[ 2015-04-27 ]

Formation of KNUST NPP Frontliners does not offend rules — Authorities
Authorities of the Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science and Technology (KNUST) have stated that
the formation of the KNUST New Patriotic Party
(NPP) Frontliners does not offend any rules and
regulations of the university.

While the National Democratic Congress (NDC)
believes it would affect academic work and
politically polarise the entire university, the
NPP describes it as an age-old practice and cites
the likes of former, Dr Josiah Aryeh, who was a
lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon when he
worked as the NDC General Secretary.

But speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Deputy
Registrar of University Relations of KNUST, Mr
Vincent Ankamah-Lomotey, allayed the fears of the
students who are NDC and all others on campus who
are apprehensive that they might be victimised by
these lecturers.

Background
Last Sunday, some lecturers and academicians from
the KNUST, known as KNUST NPP Frontliners, called
on Ghanaians to rise up and support the opposition
NPP to win the 2016 Elections.

According to the group, which was made up of
senior members and senior staff members of the
university, the NPP remained the better
alternative to the corrupt and visionless NDC
whose governance had crippled the sensitive
centres of the economy and brought untold
hardships on the ordinary Ghanaian.

At the inauguration of the group, Dr Kwabena
Boadu, the leader of the group, explained that the
aim of the group was to serve as a think tank,
ready to serve the party to win power in 2016 and
beyond and with the vision, to be recognised as an
elite group of supporters to influence policy
direction as well as serve as an interface between
the party and the electorate in explaining party
policies and canvassing for votes.

No fears
Reacting to concerns by some members of the
Tertiary Education Institutions Network (TEIN) of
the NDC about possible victimisation, Mr
Ankamah-Lomotey said, “I don’t agree with them
because these are intellectuals who would not
engage in such things.”

NDC
The Public Relations Officer of the KNUST NDC
TEIN, Mr Prince Nyarko, told the Daily Graphic,
“We are not perturbed the least about the
formation of this group” but they were worried
it would open the floodgates for others to form
similar groups on campus.

A situation which, he explained, could lead to the
proliferation of parallel entities on campus and
if care was not taken, even the Vice Chancellor
and other heads of departments would join the
fray, leading to political polarisation of
academic work on campus.

Mr Nyarko stated that his basis for fear of
ill-treatment was born out of the fact that the
group had been formed to specifically garner
support and votes for the opposition NPP and
wondered how these would play out in classes that
were full of known NDC activists.

He explained that although both the TEIN of the
NDC and the Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON)
of the NPP on campus had patrons who were
lecturers, such patrons did not openly expose
their known political colours on campus.

Source - Daily Graphic

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