Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) will tomorrow, Saturday, December 20, 2014 hold its national congress to elect national officers to steer affairs of the party for the next four (4) years.
The congress—which is scheduled to take place in Kumasi in the Ashanti region at the Babayara Sports Stadium—will elect party members for positions including National Chairman, Vice-National Chairman, General Secretary, National Organiser among others.
Apparently, disgruntled member of Parliament (MP) for Afram Plains North, Emmanuel Aboagye Didiaye, who was one of the six persons cited by the party’s General Secretary , Johnson Asiedu Nketia, as withdrawing from the December 20 Congress, yesterday withdrew his injunction suit against the party and subsequently threw his support behind Kofi Adams, who is gunning for the National Organiser position.
Mr. Didiaye, however, rejected the claim after his name and photograph were not included in the national organiser ballot box that he was disqualified.
He was contesting the incumbent National Organiser of the party, Yaw Boateng Gyan, and deputy General Secretary of the party, Kofi Adams, for the position of National Organiser.
Notwithstanding this development, Today gathered, that social relations existing between some leading members of the party was worrying.
In fact, there is too much tension leading to tomorrow’s congress which political watchers have asserted will see the various positions being keenly contested.
For instance, political pundits believe that the race for the National Chairman and National Organiser positions will be keenly contested.
With respect to the National Chairman’s position, four persons including incumbent Chairman, Dr. Kwabena Adjei will be battling it out.
The rest are boss of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO,) Kofi Portuphy, incumbent Vice-Chairman, Huudu Yaaya and former Ambassador to Malaysia, Daniel Abodakpi.
The National Organiser position will also be decided between the incumbent, Yaw Boateng Gyan, and spokesperson of the former President, Jerry John Rawling, Kofi Adams.
Today’s findings revealed that the Rawlings’ factor was wooing delegates to vote for Mr. Adams.
According to the NDC founder, he would have loved to keep Mr. Adams to himself but because of his [Kofi Adams] integrity, it would be proper he joined the national executives of the party to bring back the ideals of the party.
Such opening declaration, especially from no mean person than the founder of the party, a deep throat source hinted Today, would not augur well for the development of the party after the congress.
According to the sources, it would have been proper for the former president not to have declared his support openly for his spokesperson.
However, others including Daniel Abodakpi, who is aspiring to unseat Dr. Kwabena Adjei, has called on the NDC delegates to vote out all the old executives and bring in new ones to bring back dignity which used to characterise the party.
But the old executives led by the party’s General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, known in political circles as “General Mosquito” has said it would be imprudent to change a winning team.
The executives argued that since they were able to win two successful elections-2008 and 2012- the delegates must retain them to win power again in 2016.
But whichever way the pendulum will swing on Saturday, the most important thing is how the party which is in power will bring the needed economic transformation that Ghanaians are yearning for.
It would be recalled that the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in April this year at its National Delegates’ Congress in Tamale in the Northern region voted out all its incumbent executives except the National Women’s Organiser.
The casualties were then General Secretary and the National Chairman, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, known as “Sir John” and Jake Obtsebi-Lamyey respectively.
