Mr Kwabena Agyepong (in suit) with Alhaji Malik Yakubu
A former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, has expressed the hope that the governing party will hand down its principles and ideals to successive generations after the exit of the current generation.
According to Mr Agyepong, the dedication of young activists who joined the party during its formative days was “based on the principles of service, sacrifice and selflessness”.
These principles, he believes, are essential for the growth and sustainability of the party.
Mr Agyepong said this in a post on Facebook after visiting the first chairman of the youth wing of the party, Alhaji Malik Yakubu, as part of activities marking the party’s 29th anniversary.
“We recalled the courage and commitment of the likes of Dan Botwe, Abeeku Dickson, Ben Annan, Alex Akpata Quaynor, Osafo Pretoria and Ato Wilson. Our dedication to this tradition was based on the principles of SERVICE, SACRIFICE AND SELFLESSNESS. We pray and hope these ideals will be handed down successive generations,” he said.
He recalled “with nostalgia the many meetings held at Mr Yakubu’s Labone residence during those heady days leading up to the formation of the NPP.”
Humility and loyalty
Mr Agyepong’s statement comes at the back of calls on the new generation of NPP activists to adopt the principles of humility and loyalty in order to sustain the gains of their forebearers.
Speaking at a media engagement to mark the 29th anniversary celebration of the NPP in active partisan politics and governance, the National Chairman of the party’s Council of Elders, Mr Hackman Owusu Agyemang, gave a vivid account of what the founding members went through to be able to register the party.
According to him, memories of the struggles of the founding fathers of the party to attain official recognition as a political party in the country at the time evoke “uncontrollable emotions”.
Alhaji Malik Yakubu
Alhaji Malik Yakubu was one of the signatories of the party’s original registration document, and the first chairman of the youth wing. He is a former Interior Minister and former MP for Yendi.
By 2008, he had become the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament. According to the party’s former National Chairman, Samuel Odoi-Sykes, Alhaji Malik Yakubu was the first choice of running mate considered by then candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo when he won the party’s 2008 presidential slot. Alhaji Yakubu resigned as Minister of Interior in 2002 following accusations of backing one of the sides in a violent conflict in Yendi.
