Wilfred Osei Palmer insists George Afriyie's presidential bid declaration is premature

A Member of the Executive Committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Winfred Osei Kwaku Palmer has taken a swipe at the vice president of the Ghana FA, George Afriyie, describing his presidential declaration as premature.
The Liberty Professionals director recently made his presidential ambitions public at his 50^th birthday anniversary celebration at the Mensvic Hotel in Accra.
However, speaking on Happy FM’s Wamputu Sports, Wilfred Palmer, who doubles as the bankroller of Tema Youth, insists George has every right to contest the position of the GFA presidency, but the timing was not right.
Osei Palmer blasted the Ghana FA vice president for turning his birthday party into a political rally and added that he ambushed the attendants who had no idea of his intention.
“The timing was wrong on all fronts, as a Ghanaian, he has every right to contest for the position, as the Vice-president, the natural progression was that he contests for the position but the declaration was premature,” Osei Palmer told Happy FM’s Wamputu Sports.
“I don’t think he was fair to those that he invited to the place. Before you make a political statement, in politics we call it bold statement, and before you make such a bold statement, even the tie you wear should be different, we have bold statement ties and anybody who is politically astute will tell you this.”
“You have to inform me ahead of the function that this is what you’re planning to do so that when I’m coming I will prepare my mind that I’m coming for a political statement but if not then all of a sudden I come to party before hearing this, it means you’ve not been fair to me as a person, therefore if I had been to that party I would have walked off, not on the ground that he doesn’t have the right to make that statement but on the fact that I wasn’t informed beforehand and I wouldn’t want to be involved in anything that I have no knowledge of, hence I don’t see the reason why I should be part of it. That is one point that shows the timing was wrong.”
“The second reason I am condemning the declaration was due to the fact that he made it when the FA was going through the crisis – league delay and all that.”
“Number three, the FA has 18 clear months to the elections and you come out to make such a declaration; when you do that you undermine the FA and it suggests you want to facilitate the removal of the sitting president.”
“Nyantakyi hasn’t made anything official about the statement that he won’t contest in 2019, he should have at least consulted Nyantakyi himself, to find out if indeed he won’t contest.”
Osei Palmer was asked if George Afriyie consulted Nyantakyi before coming out with the bold declaration, he answered,”I can tell you on authority that George Akwasi Afriyie never consulted his boss Kwesi Nyantakyi before making the declaration.”
By: Emmanuel Asante