Konadu Stings Mosquito

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu
The unprovoked attacks by Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, a National Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that President John Evans Atta Mills has left Ex-President Jerry John Rawlings homeless is fast deepening the woes of the ruling party which is already struggling to paper the deepening cracks ahead of the 2012 general elections.

It has emerged that former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings who was also present at the controversial Tertiary Education Institution Network (TEIN) workshop in Accra which has been described as inciting accused the party’s national executives of hypocrisy and biased in favour of President Atta Mills.

The former first lady did not understand why NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia aka General Mosquito, should chastise her publicly when the party’s foot soldiers displayed her posters declaring their support for her presidential ambitions even though she had not publicly declared herself.

She said the same Asiedu Nketia and the party’s executives were silent when President Mills was said to have explicitly expressed interest in running again for the presidency in 2012 on more than one occasion, when nominations had not been opened for the NDC’s presidential slot.

The former First Lady did not understand why the provisions in the NDC’s constitution should be applied in a discriminatory manner saying “the party has a constitution that says that two years to the general elections we should have a congress and choose a flagbearer…the General Secretary says nobody should declare until the ban is lifted…so if this is in the constitution does it apply to one or two people or it applies to everybody.”

Unlike Vice President John Dramani Mahama who has publicly declared he would “never run” against President Mills, the former First Lady is yet to confirm or deny that she would contest to lead the NDC for the 2012 general election but she maintains that the only way to make the Mills administration perform was to be critical of the President and his functionaries.

“We have to be critical of the government, if that is what is going to make the government to properly work for us, because of handout the people are quiet, and because of small money the people are quiet” she said.

The open defiance and disrespect displayed by some TEIN members despite a directive from Ludwig Hlodze, the National Youth Organizer calling on the TEIN executives not to hold the workshop which was believed to have been sponsored by the Rawlings faction in the NDC shows how the party was struggling to deal with indiscipline.

Mr. Hlodze who had earlier tried to stop the workshop said “I still insist it was an illegal workshop. It does not have the blessing of the party or the youth wing of which I am the head. They did not have my consent to hold the workshop.

“Some people are trying to create power blocs in the party. People who claim to be members of the NDC must respect the rules and regulations of the party. We should not do things to undermine the very structures that we have all helped to put together,” he said.

He said Dr. Sunu cannot be a member of TEIN because he is a practicing medical officer and not a student and wondered how they came by the funds to organize the workshop and even camping some of the delegates, when the same people had been coming to him for chop money and rent allowances.

But Dr Sunu says members of the network have not in any way been incited by comments made by Dr Spio-Garbrah against the party at the workshop.

The Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the NDC expressed what some political analysts believe a belated concern about the activities of a group calling itself "Greater Accra TEIN".

The FEC said it was studying details of the TEIN workshop which was convened by one Dr. David Yaoga Sunu and would soon come out with an official position on it in a released signed by NDC National Chairman, Dr. Kwabena Adjei whose infamous statement “there are many ways of killing a cat’ in reference to judges in the country caused fear and panic among judges recently.

The statement issued in Accra condemned a speech by Dela Coffie in the name of Friends of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings (FONKAR), which attacked the integrity of President John Evans Atta Mills and Vice President John Dramani Mahama and distanced NDC from the publication since "the party does not recognize FONKAR or any of such groups and their purported executives".

"For the avoidance of doubt, the party shall fish out and identify the likes of Dela Coffie and deal with them in accordance with the relevant provisions of the party's constitution," the statement said.

Della Coffie who had since issuing the damming statement attacking the integrity of Vice President Mahama had received tongue lashing from Mills apologists had not kept quiet firing from all cylinders.

Della virtually thrown the integrity of Vice President John Dramani Mahama into question by describing him as somebody who has no ‘conscience’ and can easily be bribed, tainting the image of the number two citizens.

Tackling Spio’s attacks on President Mills for allegedly failing to provide accommodation for the former first family, the FEC expressed dismay about the statement and said Spio was appointed Chairman of a three-member committee set up to resolve the former first couple's accommodation problem, but unfortunately, he left the country for his UK base without calling a meeting.

Meanwhile the NDC youth in the Ashanti Region have asked the party’s executives to stand up against the persistent attacks by some leading members of the party on President Mills.

NDC Regional Youth Organizer, Kwaku Boafo, speaking to Nhyira FM in Kumasi said ‘disaster’ awaits the in 2012 should the leadership of the party fail to curb indiscipline in the party.

They vowed to resist any group or individuals who attempt to make President Mills unpopular saying “If we hear anybody insulting or castigating the President and the Vice-President so that they cannot achieve the Better Ghana Agenda then we the youths in Ashanti Region will stand against them. We don’t know where this is coming from.”