Irate NPP activists chase out Afoko, Agyepong in U/E Region
A group of irate activists of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Upper East Region last Thursday evening disrupted a meeting in Bolgatanga which was attended by the party’s National Chairman, Mr Paul Afoko, and its General Secretary, Mr Kwabena Agyepong.
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The irate youth also allegedly attacked the Upper East Regional Organiser of the party, Mr Jerry Asamani, for organising the meeting without informing the Regional Party Chairman, Mr Adam Mahama. A journalist, Mr Edward Adeti, was also assaulted.
It took the timely intervention of the police to prevent the chaotic scene from escalating.
Fingers are already pointing at Mr Adam as the mastermind of the commotion. The National Chairman and the General Secretary were touring some areas in the northern part of the country to meet and discuss party issues with members.
But that meeting was rumoured to be a campaign against the party’s 2016 flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
This angered some party activists to storm the Azunsolum Guest House in Bolgatanga, where the meeting was supposedly taking place.
They had threatened to beat and maim the Regional Organiser of the party, Mr Asamani, whom they accused of organising the meeting.
According to reports, the police had a hectic time preventing the angry activists, who had taken over the entrance of the guest house, from carrying out their threat.
The police later escorted Mr Afoko and Mr Agyepong to lodge a complaint at the nearest police station around 8 p.m. the same day.
Briefing
Briefing the Daily Graphic on the incident, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Upper East Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Thomas Agbanyo, explained that Messrs Afoko and Agyepong were holding a meeting with some NPP constituency party executive members at the Azunsolum Guest House in Bolgatanga to discuss some party issues.
He said in the course of the meeting, a group of "macho men", allegedly brought in by Mr Mahama, stormed the venue and beat up the regional organiser and some other participants in the meeting.
According to the PRO, preliminary investigations also showed that Mr Mahama reportedly told the Regional Secretary, Mr Cletus Ayambire, to not attend the meeting since they were both not informed.
ASP Agbanyo further stated that owing to the situation, Messrs Afoko and Agyepong had to be escorted out of the Bolgatanga Municipality by the police.
Mr Adam could not be reached for his side of the story at the time of filing this report as he was said to be in a meeting.
Meanwhile, the police have launched an investigation into the matter and have invited some of the regional leaders of the party for questioning.