By: Staff Writer
The National Patriotic Party (NPP) have announced its 7th Biennial convention beginning October 7, 2022, in Paynesville, outside Monrovia.
The party says the pending convention will be held under the theme, “Unity, Commitment, Trust and Reconciliation, the Requirements for a Genuine National Partnership.”
The aim of the convention according to the party’s secretary Mr. Andrew Peters, is to elect officers that will serve for four years in the party and take it to elections thru the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change that it is in coalition with.
According to the NPP, offices to be contested for at the convention include National Chairman, National Vice Chairpersons, and National Treasurer, respectively.
“Delegates are expected to review achievements, works, programs and formulate new policies; review financial and audit reports, including administrative matters and the state of affairs of the party”, Mr. Peters told newsmen Tuesday in Monrovia.
The National Patriotic Party is a grassroots political party that grew out of the defunct rebels National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led by now jailed former President Charles Ghankay Taylor.
Ahead of Friday’s October 7, 2022, convention of the National Patriotic Party (NPP), disagreement seems to be brewing among members of the national executive committee of the party with the secretariat accusing the standard bearer, Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor, of usurpation of function.
NPP Secretary General Andrew Peters accused Madam Taylor of handpicking delegates for the pending convention, instead of allowing the secretariat to do its work.
Addressing a team of journalists Tuesday October 4, in Monrovia, Mr. Peters said Madam Taylor has failed to provide funds to transport delegates coming for the convention instead, instructed staff from her office, to usurp the authority of the party’s leadership by bringing delegates from all over the country without knowledge of the secretariat.
He said it is unthinkable that the standard bearer would usurp the function of the leadership as the 45 days given to James Birney’s leadership by the court to hold convention and elect new corps of officers, elapses rapidly.
NPP’s SG Peters Speaking to a Team of Journalists (Photo by bongtvonline.com)
The NPP SG explained that VP Taylor was supposed to allocate 90,000 United States Dollars and Chairman James Biney provided 10,000 United States Dollars for successfully hosting of the convention.
According to Mr. Peters, the NPP Standard Bearer lately deposited part of said funds into the party’s account for the operation of the convention, something he said was not possible for the committee to use during the October 7, activities .
It can recalled on September 4, this year the national executive committee of the party resolved to invite 638 delegates with a budget of US$100,000, but they also agreed to reduce that number to about 310 delegates if the funding of US$100,000 cannot be raised.
Recently, the civil law court at the Temple of Justice gave a 45-day ultimatum to the James Biney leadership to take the party to national convention and elect new corps of leaders prior to elections.
