There is pressure on me to vie for chairman — Nylander

THE National Chairman of the Convention People’s Party, Mr Ladi Nylander has disclosed that some leading members of the party as well as some supporters have been calling on him to rescind his decision of vying for the chairmanship position of the party.
Mr Nylander will not deny nor confirm his decision to contest for the position but told the Daily Graphic “his main concern now is how to reorganise the CPP, together with all the members, and make it more attractive to the Ghanaian voter, secure a fruitful Nkrumaist unity and establish stronger structures at the grassroots.”
However, a source within the CPP hinted that Mr Nylander would seek re-election to lead the party for another four years.
This will be in sharp contradiction to the promise made by Mr Nylander before he was elected in Kumasi by the CPP congress in 2007 that he was going for only one term.
According to the source, Mr Nylander had taken the decision to seek re-election due to great pressure and influence from some party leading members and faithful.
The sources further stated that those impressing on the chairman to seek re-election argued that although Mr Nylander had indicated prior to his election as the leader and chairman of the party in Kumasi in 2007 that he was going for only one term, they believed that the party would be better off with him at the helm of affairs for next four years.
The source said Mr Nylander had exhibited beyond doubt his determination to instil discipline, comradeship and unity within the party at all times.
It mentioned Mr Nylander’s high sense of maturity at mending the cracks within the party, particularly by bringing all the former presidential aspirants together to dialogue and prepare their policy statements as Shadow Cabinet Ministers.
It said there was every indication that Mr Nylander would be able to halt the habit of members who lose elections and sit on the fence by ensuring that all hands were on deck.
Speaking on the roadmap for the party’s reorganisation process which was adopted during a Family Dialogue, Mr Nylander said so far the party was on track.
The roadmap include constitutional changes, discipline, funding and accountability, grassroots organising, early congress and Nkrumaist unity.
The rest are Better Resourced Parliamentary Candidates, Revitalising the CPP branding process, Education and Ideology and Re-energising elders’ influence.
The chairman noted that the CPP had worked well on the constitutional amendment to ensure that what would come out after the party’s highest decision body had consented would be a working document that would suit the current circumstances of the CPP.
With discipline, Mr Nylander said it had always been his priority and that “so far so good”.
Regarding accountability, grassroots organising, early congress and Nkrumaist Unity, he said it was evident that the party was on course and stated that “the next congress would definitely come on a year earlier as promised”.
He explained that the move was to have a situation where the new national executive would have ample time to settle down and prepare the way for the next presidential aspirant who would be elected afterwards.