Mr Stephen Ashitey-Adjei, an outspoken executive member of the Tema East wing of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has branded former President John Mahama as a ‘problem’ to the party.
“Mr Mahama is the reason why our Founder has one of his legs in the party and another out, he is the reason many party executives are still bitter, he is the reason many supporters of the party are contemplating not voting for the NDC and if he has respect and love for the party, he must stop worrying us.”
Mr Ashitey-Adjei who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency on their preparation towards electing a Presidential candidate for the 2020 elections pointed out that the former President was at the moment, the main source of conflict and disunity in the party.
The Tema East executive member, who is popularly known as Moshake explained that the former President’s regional Unity Walks had further polarised the party as they were in contravention with the Kwesi Botchwey report.
“The Botchwey report had recommended that the NDC leadership engage its support base and appease them, not the so-called unity walks that Mr. Mahama and his camp organised to shore up support for himself. Those unity walks had forced the council of elders to end intended tours to engage the party’s support base,” Moshake said.
He also pointed out that Mr Mahama’s posturing was preventing some people who wanted to defect from the ruling NPP to the NDC.
Moshake who has long made it clear that he was in support of Mr Alban Bagbin maintained that the NDC would be shooting itself in its own foot if it elected former President John Mahama flagbearer again because of high perception among Ghanaian voters that Mahama’s administration was corrupt.
Aside the external repulsion of Mahama, he said the former President was a divisive figure within the party and that his flagbearership of the NDC would lead to many within the party, including the party’s Founder, former President Jerry John Rawlings, campaigning against the NDC.
“Party true-bloods like Dr. Tony Aidoo, Col (Rtd) Gbevlo Lartey, and many others may not come on board if Mahama is elected flagbearerer and it is because when Mahama was President, he ignored hardworking party members who had toiled for the party and rewarded outsiders with appointments. So Gbevlo for instance was removed for Yaw Donkor,” Moshake said.
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Source: GNA
