A batch of branded cloth bearing the inscription “Asanteman COKA I Care” has sparked controversy among some New Patriotic Party (NPP) executives in the Ashanti Region ahead of the party’s national conference in Kumasi.
The cloth, designed in the NPP’s red, white and blue colours and featuring the party’s elephant symbol and the slogan “NPP: Development in Freedom,” also prominently displays the name and nickname of the party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, popularly known as COKA.
Sources within the party’s regional structure said some of the cloth had been distributed to regional and constituency executives, with claims that they were expected to wear them during the national conference.
The development has reportedly caused concern among some executives, who questioned the prominence given to the regional chairman’s name and nickname at a time when the party is preparing for a major national gathering.
Some executives, speaking on condition of anonymity, argued that the party’s activities should focus on promoting its national leadership and flagbearer rather than individual personalities.
However, the Ashanti Regional Communications Officer, Dr. Keskin Owusu Poku, said he was not aware of any official distribution or directive concerning the cloth.
“Not that I’m aware. Where is the source?” Dr. Owusu Poku asked when contacted by Kumasi Mail.
A member of the party’s Ashanti Regional Communications Team, Asaase Gyimah, subsequently provided an explanation for the cloth.
According to him, the cloth was not commissioned or printed by COKA but was presented to the regional chairman as a gift in recognition of his service following his election as regional chairman.
He said the chairman subsequently shared the cloth with party members.
“The cloth was rather a gift some gave to the regional chairman in quantity for his service after his election as Ashanti Regional Chairman. There’s nothing he can do with it but to share it with party people,” Mr. Gyimah explained.
He further denied that COKA had personally commissioned the cloth, saying that if the regional chairman had the resources to produce campaign materials, he would rather use them to promote the party’s flagbearer.
“COKA has not printed the cloth. If he has the money, he will rather print T-shirts for Dr. Bawumia, the party’s flagbearer, to project his image and political brand,” he said.
Gyimah also clarified that there had been no official directive instructing regional or constituency executives to wear the cloth at the NPP’s national conference scheduled for Saturday, October 4, 2026, in the Ashanti Region.
The clarification appears to distinguish the distribution of the cloth from any official conference dress code, although the controversy over its inscription and intended use continues to generate discussion within sections of the party in the region.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
