Dr Richard Amoako Baah, a former head of the political science department at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), thinks that he could be a better national chairman for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and that he has “more than what it takes to be a national chairman.”
“I have no doubt that I can do well for the party and the country,” he said in a radio interview on Accra based Peace FM Monday night, when he was asked about his intentions to contest the next NPP national chairmanship race.
According to him, a group from the diaspora, has approached him and even gone ahead to print posters and published some of them online, asking him to step forward and contest the next NPP national chairmanship race.
He said he has considered the proposal and thinks it was a good idea, but added he was yet to declare whether to take up the challenge or reject it.
He indicated he was still thinking about it and consulting other senior people of the party, hoping that he can firm up a decision by the weekend.
Asked if he had what it takes to be chairman of the ruling political party, Dr Baah said, the national chairman was not a popularity contest, “I have more than what it takes to be a national chairman.”
Explaining how long he had served the party, he said, he contributed to President John Agyekum Kufuor’s administration when he first won the presidential election in 2000.
At the time, a series of strikes at the universities had created a backlog of students who were waiting to get admission to the university and Dr Amoako Baah said he wrote a “paper” on how to absorb the backlog of students.
He said people like Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo, the Senior Minister was aware of his contribution to the NPP and when the time comes for campaign, should he decide to contest, he would put out his credentials.
Dr Baah’s areas of interest in academia is on human rights, international politics and comparative politics.
He is noted for being vociferous on governance issues especially during President John Mahama’s era, and even turned down an by President Mahama to chair the Kumasi Polytechnic Governing Council.
At the time, he said the appointment was not properly done and that the communication for his appointment was verbal instead of a written letter adding that, he was called on telephone to report to Accra for a swearing in, and that was why he turned down the offer.