A former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Ohene Ntow is calling on the National Chairman of NPP, Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey to call the party’s General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie (Sir John) to order. Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Ohene Ntow stated that the current back and forth about whether Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo should or should not be the party’s flag bearer in 2016 is a leadership problem because Sir John started by declaring his support for Nana Addo. Sir John had earlier on insisted that, after losing the Supreme Court case, Nana Akufo-Addo was more than prepared to lead the party once more in the 2016. But Ohene Ntow said Sir John’s position as General Secretary meant that other interested candidate would submit their nomination forms to him so it is not proper for him to be seen as supporting a particular candidate. “Sir John is the General Secretary of our party and when he goes off line it becomes the duty of the National Chairman to call him to order and I would expect Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey to do just that,” he said. Other leading party members who have also openly declared their support for Nana Addo for 2016 include founding member Dr Kwame Amoako-Tuffour, former MP for Asikuma Odobeng Brakwa, Paul Collins Appiah Ofori, and Nana Addo’s 2012 Campaign Manager Boakye Kyeremanten Agyarko. Ohene Ntow thinks the party Chairman also needs to call all the other leading members declaring their support for Nana Addo to order because the information they are putting out is strategic information which needs to be kept under wraps until the appropriate time. “These are matters we need to discuss behind closed doors for now – but we are exposing ourselves to the opponent too early,” he said. “I’m therefore appealing to party Chairman to deal with this matter immediately before it creates division in the party.” According to Ohene Ntow, what is more important for the party now is to find answers to why they lost 2008 and 2012 elections, and the Supreme Court case, and that would help them chat their path toward victory in 2016. Meanwhile, another former General Secretary of the NPP and MP for Okere, Dan Kwaku Botwe said all the party leaders and its communicators must “shut up”, stop the media war over Nana Addo’s political future, and solve their problem internally. He said the back and forth about who leads the party in 2016 is not necessary, adding that what is more necessary is finding the cause of the party’s loss in two consecutive elections losing the court case in spite of the evidence they took to court. Dan Botwe said there are party structures and constitutional provisions about how a presidential candidate is elected and that needs to be followed. “There is no doubt that Nana Addo has established himself as a credible and viable candidate but I hope those throwing his name up are not suggesting that we should set aside the elaborate constitutional provisions in favor of one person,” he said.