The regional coordinator for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Volta has asked the party’s leadership to suspend Pope Yevu as regional secretary for allegedly stealing supplies meant to be distributed to voters during the recently completed Assin North by-election.
In a petition to the NPP’s national executives dated July 3, the Volta region’s organizer Korsi Bodja claimed that Pope Yevu had stolen campaign supplies like hair dryers, cutlasses, Wellington boots, head pans, fertilizer, and sewing machines that were intended to be distributed in the Ewe communities during the election.
“I write to invoke Article 3(7) of the party’s constitution for the suspension of the New Patriotic Party’s Volta Regional Secretary, Mr. Pope Yevu for gross misconduct against the party as an elected officer, contravening Article 3 Clauses 1,3,4,5 and 6 of the party’s constitution, in the recent by-election campaign activities held at Assin North Constituency where the Volta Regional Secretary was caught diverting campaign material meant for the said by-election.”
He stressed, “In the said by-election, the New Patriotic Party Volta Regional Executives and other constituency executives were expected to enhance the party’s electoral fortunes by intensifying campaign in the Ewe communities within the Assin North Constituency. As a result, campaign materials including hairdryers, cutlasses, Wellington boots, head pans, fertilizers and sewing machines were handed over to the region to help meet the demand of the electorate in the Ewe communities during the campaign. However, it turned out that, while there was indeed, high demand for the said campaign materials within communities where we campaigned, the Volta Regional Secretary decided to keep such items in his hotel facility and diverted same for his parochial interest”.
The NPP Volta regional organizer’s letter to the general secretary is below;
REGIONAL ORGANIZER,
NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY,
VOLTA REGIONAL OFFICE,
HO – V/R.
3RD JULY, 2023.
THE GENERAL SECRETARY
NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
ACCRA
Dear Sir,
PETITION TO SUSPEND THE NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY VOLTA REGIONAL SECRETARY FOR DIVERSION OF CAMPAIGN MATERIALS FOR PRIVATE USE.
I write to invoke Article 3(7) of the party’s constitution for the suspension of the New Patriotic Party’s Volta Regional Secretary, Mr. Pope Yevu for gross misconduct against the party as an elected officer, contravening Article 3 Clauses 1,3,4,5 and 6 of the party’s constitution, in the recent by-election campaign activities held at Assin North Constituency where the Volta Regional Secretary was caught diverting campaign material meant for the said by-election.
In the said by-election, the New Patriotic Party Volta Regional Executives and other constituency executives were expected to enhance the party’s electoral fortunes by intensifying the campaign in the Ewe communities within the Assin North Constituency. As a result, campaign materials including hairdryers, cutlasses, Wellington boots, head pans, Fertilizers and sewing machines were handed over to the region to help meet the demand of the electorate in the Ewe communities during the campaign. However, it turned out that, while there was indeed, high demand for the said campaign materials within communities where we campaigned, the Volta Regional Secretary decided to keep such items in his hotel facility and diverted the same for his parochial interest.
From the video footage available for your view, the Volta Regional Secretary is visibly seen at the dawn of 28th June 2023, at about 3: 58am, a day after the by-election in Assin North, secretly packing out the hoarded items for the campaign into his car with the support of the Deputy Volta Regional Organizer who had also brought a pickup vehicle for the conveyance of same items to their region.
It must be stated that this act of irresponsible conduct and disloyalty to the party’s collective cause for which we went to Assin North to canvass for vote for the party’s victory in the by-election was a major factor in the apathy that reared its ugly head in the Ewe communities in Assin North Constituency. In fact, the conduct of the Volta Regional Secretary also contravenes Article 3 Clause 6 of the party’s constitution, which calls for members to participate fully in the activities of the party and ensure that the local organs of the party work effectively and accountably.
It indeed beggars belief that the Volta Regional Secretary of our party could be that mean and act in ways that do not promote the good name of the party, as the act was orchestrated before the right-thinking members of the hotel community, subjecting the New Patriotic Party to open mockery and negative branding.
If the Volta Regional Secretary is able to oversee the stealing of campaign materials far away Assin North to his home region, what will he not do if he gets hold of the same materials in his home region?
It is sad to note that even on the day of voting, persons who were promised such campaign materials called our team for the same to be brought to them, but to no avail. This indeed lowered the integrity of my team, which went around canvassing for vote in the Ewe communities. The Regional Secretary should be explaining what benefit there is to get from hoarding campaign materials meant for the electorate and losing by-elections in communities that were in one way or the other avoidable.
As a regional secretary, he owes it a duty to effectively and selflessly rally members of the party around a collective cause and sole objective of winning elections in any given contest and not engage in activities that would negatively affect the party’s chances in any election, whether in his home region or elsewhere. This conduct of his, therefore, makes him not fit for the position and I foresee disaster in the greater task of the election 2024 where the party has an agenda of breaking the eight-year cycle of governance in our country.
I therefore wish to crave your indulgence to as a matter of urgency treat this petition with the seriousness it deserves to save our party from any looming danger in the not-distant future.
I count on your usual cooperation.
Thank you.
Korsi Bodja
Volta Regional Organizer.
