In an exclusive interview with MyNewsGh, Paul Ofoko opened up about his journey to becoming a party Chairman of the opposition NPP, recalling the challenges he faced and the reforms he later introduced.
The former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) admitted that his path was not smooth, as he faced opposition, mudslinging, and accusations of vote-buying.
Despite this, he said, he managed to secure victory with a decisive majority.
“You see, for those who opposed me, those who didn’t want me to be chairman and fought me all the way, as I said, vote buying, mudslinging, lies being told, all of that, I still won with a huge majority. They never gave up,” he recounted.
According to him, some rivals went as far as mocking his victory. “In fact, I was told that one of them said, ‘Osee obidi Chairman, y3 k) Nkran, obi di Chairman n3 y3n why3 (he says he wants to be a chairman, we going to Accra, he should come there and be the chairman what). He’s still alive, and he knows himself,” Ofoko remarked.
Moving to Accra after his election, Ofoko said he was determined to reform the party and reshape its image.
“I didn’t want this party to continue being seen only as a massive party of the people. I wanted reforms,” he explained.
One of the reforms, he disclosed, was a new financial structure aimed at strengthening grassroots operations.
“I insisted on every constituency in this country opening a bank account, and I pushed 10,000 cedis into every single constituency,” he revealed.
Ofoko noted that the initiative was not warmly received by all, even within the party’s executive.
“Yes, and I was opposed strongly, even within the executive. Why? Why should you be sending the money to constituencies? Oh really? No, no, no, don’t do that. But I said it was the right thing to do.”
