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Lead Counsel for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the just-ended court case thrown at the party by the suspended National Chairman, Paul Afoko has urged the opposing team to concede defeat and cling to the verdict of the High Court.

According to lawyer Godfred Yeboah Dame, though the suspended National Chairman and his team have every right to go to court for an appeal, it is not necessary to drag the case which has already been decided even at the party level to the Appeals Court again.

The suspended chairman of the NPP was in court challenging the legality of his suspension by the Disciplinary Committee of the party. However, the Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court on Monday, August 15, 2016, dismissed the suit.

Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, Lawyer Godfred Dame insisted that inasmuch as the NPP acted in accordance with the party’s constitution which is above every member of the party, the focus of the party is to win the 2016 election and not to engage in legal battle.

“It is his right to go for an appeal but if he goes for it, we will also have no option but to defend ourselves. We believe there is merit in our matter but it is not necessary because the win of the 2016 election is what matters; and so we should focus and work on it rather than the legal action,” he advised.

Commenting on the High Court ruling, lawyer Yeboah Dame mentioned that the motive of the NPP to reconcile with the affected members of the party didn’t make them ask for cost as it is normally done in court.

“We didn’t ask for cost because we are one family and there should be reconciliation in the party. In NPP, the Constitution is supreme and so whether you are a floor member, National Chairman or even the Flagbearer, you should know that the Constitution is supreme,” he averred.

" . . In this case, with all due respect to Mr Afoko, I don’t think it is necessary for him to go to court again to continue the litigation,” he stressed.

He reminded that suspension in political parties should not be seen as confusion as the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been campaigning against the NPP; thus Kofi Adams who is now making noise on radio for the NDC was once suspended in 2012.

He emphasized that Paul Afoko’s suspension is not the first of its kind as the same thing happened to NPP’s Haruna Esseku for his conduct, but the latter took it and accepted the suspension in good faith.

“This is not the first time such thing has happened, the NDC has done a lot in the past and so if one, two or three persons have been suspended, it does not mean there is confusion in the party,” he reiterated.

The NPP in a statement also welcomed the judgment upholding its suspension of the National Chairman. The statement cautioned members not to jubilate over the matter because it was neither a defeat nor a win for both parties but asked them to work hard to return the party to power in the upcoming general elections.