Ganduje in Ghana, promises to institutionalize internal democracy

By Jude Opara, Abuja

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje has said that he went to Ghana because of his conviction that there is the need to institutionalize a cordial working relationship with the Ghana ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Ganduje who made this assertion on Friday at the headquarters of the NPP in Accra while being hosted by his Ghanaian counterpart, the National Chairman of the NPP, Mr. Stephen Ayesu Ntim said both countries shared similar historical backgrounds hence the need for the two leading West African countries to work together.

In a statement issued by Edwin Olofu, his Chief Press Secretary, Ganduje expressed the need for political parties in Africa to understudy themselves to enhance internal democracy and to improve the lot of the Africans, clamouring for good governance.

The APC boss who was accompanied to Accra by the Deputy National Chairman South, Hon. Emma Eneukwu, Deputy National Secretary, Festus Fuanter, National Legal Adviser, Prof Abdulkarim Abubakar Kana, Chief of Staff, Malam Muhammad Garba, Senior Special Assistant Visual Communications, Aminu Dahiru and Senior Special Assistant Women Mobilisation, Ngozi Ononiwu said the visit to Accra is in reciprocation of the visit of the leader of the NPP to Nigeria in 2023.

Ganduje further advocated for parties in Africa to monitor elections in other countries whenever an elections are to take place in such countries.

“We can learn from each other to improve our democracy, just like we used to have foreign observers monitoring our elections we can develop a template among ourselves so that political parties can equally visit other African countries to see how elections are been conducted. I think this will help us in nurturing our democracy.

“Today history is being made and repeated, the relationship between the two countries is that of a brotherhood. We want to institutionalize the relationship between the two ruling parties. I want to thank our forefathers for their struggle for independence that has today given birth to our democracy.

“I also want to use this opportunity to call on all parties across Africa especially the ruling parties to entrench internal democracy. Because as a ruling party, our first problem is lack of internal democracy due to contending interest in the ruling party.”

Responding, the National Chairman of the NPP, Mr. Ntim thanked his Nigerian counterpart and his entourage for the reciprocal visit, urging both parties to sustain the moment.

Also, during the parley at the National headquarters of the NPP the Chairman of the Council of Elders, Hackman Owusu Agyeman, spoke on the need to end conflicts and insecurity in some parts of Africa, especially in Nigeria.