A staunch partisan of the Unity Party (UP), Johnny D. Hopkins, is calling on members and officials of the ruling party to hold a mini convention in order to address challenges currently confronting the patty.
Johnny Hopkins, who served as Chairman of the Concerned Teachers in Support of Boakai’s Presidency,said the clarion call is stemmed from the backdrop that most of the officials of Unity Party have deserted the party—either they have left the county or have taken up employment with the government.
Hopkins noted that the National Chairman, Luther Tarpeh, has left the country for the United States of America; the National Secretary, Amos Tweh, has been appointed Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC); Whroway Bryant, Co-Chairman for Recruitment and Mobilization, has been appointed as Superintendent of Montserrado County; and Ben Fofana has been appointed as Commissioner at the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA).
According to Hopkins, “Such abandonment has the proclivity to further disintegrate the party, make it vulnerable and stain its chances for future elections.” He said in such situation, and whenever the electorate feelsabandoned or betrayed, especially by people they trust with power, they usually resolve to action of no confidence in such a political party. “This is why I believe that a mini convention of the Unity Party is necessary to address these major issues to avoid the anger of both partisans and the electorate,” he observed.
Johnny Hopkins, who is also Chairman of the Economics Department at the William V.S. Tubman High School, said he believes that a well-structured political party is one that should do everything possible to retain the confidence of the people and to lead them well.
Hopkins said he believes that such an early abandonment of the party by its hierarchy is tantamount to a vote of no confident, which is likely to be experienced at the national level.
Economist Hopkins said he believes in practical action and effective planning to draw the attention of all partisans of the ruling Unity Party in order avoid future calamity.
Meanwhile, Johnny Hopkins is also calling on the first partisan, Ambassador Joseph Nyumah Boakai, to visit to party’s headquarters to acquaint himself with some of the challenges confronting the party, as well as to restore confidence in the members and the electorate.