A group of activists of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have urged Nkrabeah Effah-Darteh, an Accra based lawyer and leading member of the party, to contest for the position of General Secretary at the national delegates congress in December. According to the group, Draft Effah-Darteh for General Secretary 2009, Effah-Darteh’s experience as a two-term Member of Parliament and deputy minister in the NPP administration coupled with his military background, place him miles ahead of those who have so far declared their intentions. At a meeting in Kumasi over the weekend, the coordinator of the group, Douglas Afeku, said after the national delegates conference in Accra, last August, some activists embarked upon an exercise to find and support candidates who were better placed to take up positions at the national level, particularly that of the General Secretary. The exercise which took the form of snap surveys at the constituency and regional levels of the party across the country clearly revealed that Nkrabeah Effah-Darteh, popularly known as “Captain”, is very popular amongst the party’s rank and file and many suggested that he should run for the position of General Secretary. Afeku explained that from the supporters’ point of view, Effah-Darteh is a thoroughbred party loyalist and grass roots activist whose popularity, extends beyond ethnic and regional considerations. He is also seen to be a courageous person who can unify and close the ranks within the party and lead it to victory in 2012. Other activists at the meeting took their turn to hail Effah-Darteh for exhibiting maturity, team spirit and party loyalty after his nomination for the flagbearership race was turned down in 2008. They also recalled that during the 2008 Elections, he took it upon himself to join NPP parliamentary candidates in some “orphan constituencies” to put up strongly against the NDC. Furthermore, Effah-Darteh was unanimously described as a humble, approachable and charismatic politician who as General Secretary, can be accessible to all and naturally identify himself with the teeming supporters of the party and ignite their enthusiasm to help rejuvenate structures at the grassroots level. A spokesperson of the group, Haruna Maiga indicated that a delegation will soon match to the law chambers of Nkrabeah Effah-Darteh in Accra to strongly prevail upon him to contest and win the position of General Secretary of NPP. Nkrabeah Effah-Darteh, 56, was born in Jinijini in the Brong Ahafo Region and was the Member of Parliament for Berekum Constituency from 2001 to 2008. In 2001, he was appointed Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development and later moved to the Ministry of the Interior. He attended Achimota School and read law at the University of Ghana. As a young officer in the Ghana Armed Forces, Effah-Darteh trained in Sandhurst, the world’s renowned military academy in the United Kingdom and served in various peace keeping missions including Lebanon and Israel before retiring with the rank of Captain in 1983. He is the senior partner of Nkrabeah and Associates, an Accra based legal firm. He is also a human rights activist, a prolific writer, a devoted Christian and married with four children. Source: Myjoyonline.com/Ghana