MILLS BROTHER’S BOMBSHELL

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, March 31  , 2017

Dr Cadman Mills, brother of the late President John Evan Atta Mills, appears to have opened a can of worms over what might have killed his elder brother at the Osu Castle.

The circumstances under which former President Mills died on July 24, 2012 became a taboo subject when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was in power, but the mystery seems to be unraveling since the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took power on January 7 after resoundingly defeating the NDC in the 2016 general elections.

Explosive Interview

In a first public interview after the exit of the NDC from power, Cadman Mills, who was an advisor to his brother, told networks under the Excellence in Broadcasting (EIB) Group, including Starr FM in Accra on Wednesday that the NDC government did not want the public to know that President Mills was sick.

“He’s not somebody who will hide things but for some strange reasons, they decided that politically it was not allowable for people to know that he was sick,” he said.

Interestingly, when the NDC was in office, Cadman Mills, an economist, defended the then President John Mahama, who had succeeded his brother and his government whenever queries were raised about the untimely death of Prof. Mills.

He is currently complaining that his brother is being treated shabbily even in death by his own party, the NDC.

Visibly Sick

Cadman Mills confessed that “I went to China and when I came back I couldn’t recognise my brother, he was not even coherent,” he said, adding, “He was very visibly sick and I’d never seen him like that before and I said we had to evacuate him immediately…we had to go to the US and that is when they started telling me that elections are going to be soon and politically it was not right….that was the first time I was very disrespectful of the Presidency.”

He said, "I told them my peace of mind and I decided we had to go to the USA. What really got me furious was that they said he was going to the US for a routine medical checkup and I said what are you people talking about? “My brother is a human being, he’s not well…I wanted him to take the time necessary to get well.”

“The fact of you being a president doesn't mean you don’t get sick and what is political about getting sick - but you see the narrative had been developed for a long time that he was a very sick man, he was on the verge of death at any given time, all of these were not true.”

He added: “Whatever got him ill was in April or May, it was something I’d never seen before, surely enough we went to the US and lucky enough they detected very quickly what's causing it and he got much better. I was very angry with him when he came back and he wanted to show everybody that he was well…I confronted him on a lot of things including that.”

Massive Stroke

Dr. Cadman Mills on August 10, 2012, the day President Mills was buried, said the President died as a result of massive stroke, although he had created a rosy, heavenly picture over his brother’s death.

He said he was queried by the NDC powerful bigwigs when he revealed the cause of his brother’s death as massive stroke and added that he wanted to dispel rumours that he suffered from throat cancer.

 “He was coherent but he was complaining of very severe neck pain. Few days before his death, he was complaining of sensitivity to light. Since his death I have done lots of research, and some of the symptoms he evidently exhibited very clearly pointed to the very beginning of a stroke of some sort… What I saw and per the autopsy report, he died out of a very massive…stroke and aneurysm.”

“Haemorrhage is very often used interchangeably, that is what I saw. At the material moment he collapsed, I was not physically there…I have to be honest with you, that people sort of questioned me why I revealed the cause of his death: ‘Why would you say that?’ I said: ‘I’m sorry I’m telling you the truth.”

“Would you rather allow Ghanaians to think he died out of throat cancer, oral sex and things like that? But that is not what he died of. Let’s tell the truth, of course not, he didn’t die of throat cancer …I know he will forgive me.”

“Prof Mills had a growth in his sinuses and it was quite sizeable that some people call pre-cancerous, others call cancerous, I don’t know,” he said.

Public Inquest

Dr Cadman Mills stated that with the high level of suspicion over the late President’s death, an inquest would be the best option to settle the matter since the NDC is not in power for people to doubt the findings.

“To be honest with you at this, I’m just so fed up with the speculations and suspicions, if it would help matters…if Ghanaians will once and for all be at peace for them to have an inquest, please do it, please have an inquest so that Ghanaians can rest and be at peace,” he said.

“Unfortunately we in Ghana, I’m not so sure that if they did an inquest there still will not be people who’ll question it. But at the very least, the NDC is not in power so nobody can say they falsified the results; hopefully if an inquest is done Ghanaians will finally rest at peace and I will rest, I’ll be at peace too…and hopefully President Mills will be at peace. I’m not requesting for an inquest, all I’m saying at this stage is that I have no issues with an inquest, I think it will be better that it is done.”

Hearing & Vision

He admitted that President Mills had vision and hearing problems as a result of a comprehensive treatment he went through in South Africa in 2005.

“My brother got very sick and was in South Africa in 2005 and he had treatment in South Africa and part of the effect of the treatment that he had was that progressively it affected his vision and also affected his hearing,” he said, adding “Otherwise, the treatment was extremely successful and he was getting progressively better.”

He said, “The only problem he had was his vision and even that was getting better with time. We were very conscious of the sickness he had in 2005 and therefore he regularly had medical checkups to confirm that everything was okay.”

Now, some things were happening that I must be very honest I wasn’t happy about. Fiifi (ex-Prez Mills) as I called him was very open, very honest and he’ll sit down with you and tell you in gory detail what his prognosis was, what the diagnosis of his disease was.”

Troublesome Koku

He admitted that President Mills liked his trusted aide Koku Anyidoho very much and said it was a ‘weakness’ he saw in his brother.

"I heard Koku Anyidoho say in an interview that he loved President Mills and it was returned. President Mills, I don’t know why, but he had such a weakness for this troublesome boy and President Mills absolutely loved him and Koku could get away with murder.”

 “When Koku did something and you went to President Mills to complain to him, he would say, ‘Don’t mind Koku’ and that meant he didn’t want to hear anymore.”

DUMELO HOT OVER MISSING CARS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

 Monday, March 27 , 2017

National Security operatives have swung into action to retrieve the V8 Toyota Land Cruiser in possession of popular movie actor John Dumelo.

The operatives caught the actor, who was part of the failed campaign to get John Mahama elected for a second time as president, with a vehicle belonging to the state, and retrieved one of them from a spraying shop at Abelemkpe, Accra, recently.

The second V8, ash in colour, which John Dumelo allegedly claimed was in possession of his girlfriend, is currently being pursued by the operatives, DAILY GUIDE learnt at the weekend.

Total Denial

When news broke that one of the two V8 Toyota Land Cruisers classified as missing from the pool of state vehicles had been retrieved from John Dumelo at an auto mechanic’s shop, he allegedly took to Facebook, a social media platform, to rubbish the publication, claiming that he bought the vehicle impounded by the state.

He posted, “I have not granted any interview both private or public to which I mentioned the name of the first lady for buying me a V8,” although DAILY GUIDE insists that it contacted him on Thursday via telephone and he said, “I wouldn’t like to comment about it.”

He continued, “I bought the vehicle myself; I never said it anywhere that Madam Lordina bought it for me. I have in my entire NDC life met her Excellency only once at a public event. Treat any publication that tries to link my purchase of a V8 to the former first lady as trash.”

Cynical Reaction

“Did I work at the flagstaff house or hold any political appointment that entitled me to a state car? And I'm sure some people within the NDC are rejoicing because of this false news,” he reacted cynically before signing off with “Keep rejoicing...”

The vehicle retrieved at the spraying shop, with chassis number JTMHVOJ2F4159829, 2015 model with full option, had been dismantled and was going through re-modeling, including re-spraying - with parts allegedly imported from Dubai.

When the operatives invited him to the garage, he reportedly panicked before surrendering the expensive vehicle without any protest. The car was subsequently driven to the Office of the President Annex, close to the State House.

Tip-off

The operatives, upon a tip-off, swooped on the garage a couple of weeks ago and got hold of the auto mechanic who told them that the vehicle belonged to John Dumelo.

He was then telephoned to come to the garage and upon arrival, Dumelo reportedly said initially that he bought the V8 from a car dealer - Svani Company Limited - and claimed he was yet to complete the payment.

The operatives then keyed the chassis number into a centralized computer system but the results showed that the vehicle was registered in the name of the National Security Secretariat, which is a property of the Government of Ghana.

Sensing he was getting into trouble, he’s reported to have quickly changed his story, claiming that it was the former first lady, Lordina Mahama, who had given the V8 to him.

The security operatives immediately decided to cross-check from the former first lady to ascertain the facts but the actor (Dumelo) reportedly pleaded with them to stop and just take the vehicle away.

The operatives’ checks at Svani Motors along the Spintex Road indicated that the company imported the vehicle for the National Security Council Secretariat and that it (company) is one of the several auto dealers used by the government to import vehicles for the state.

Free Cars

DAILY GUIDE sources say John Dumelo got two V8s from the erstwhile NDC government, with his girlfriend driving one of them.

When he was asked to direct the operatives to the whereabouts of the other vehicle, he allegedly pleaded with them to allow him to travel to London and come back to produce it, saying by then the girlfriend would have returned from a trip she had made with the ash V8 Land Cruiser.

As at press time yesterday, the second vehicle had not been returned but Dumelo is claiming that he purchased the seized vehicle registered GE 8118 –16.

AMERI $510M DEAL IN DANGER

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

 Monday, March 27 , 2017

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is on the heels of Middle East Resources Investment Group LLC - otherwise known as AMERI Group or AMERI Energy - which had signed an agreement with Ghana to produce power during the previous Mahama administration.

This is because a committee set up by the Ministry of Energy to restructure the $510 million Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) Agreement between Ghana and AMERI Energy has recommended to the government that it should call back owners of the Dubai–based company for renegotiation.

It turned out that AMERI Energy was charging over $150 million commission and the committee therefore recommended that if the company refused to honour the invitation for re-negotiation, the government should renounce the agreement on grounds of fraud.

The BOOT Agreement signed on February 10, 2015 with the Ministry of Power representing the Ghana government set tongues wagging when the real amount involved was revealed.

Third Party Deal

DAILY GUIDE stumbled on the committee’s report which indicated that in the course of the investigations, the committee took notice of the fact that the whole of the project was executed and financed by a company called PPR, which was registered in Turkey at a charge that was considerably lower than that agreed between the Government of Ghana and Ameri Energy (under the BOOT Agreement).

“The Committee recommends that Ameri Energy should be invited back to the negotiation table to address and remedy the issues enumerated in this report and for GoG to aim to claw back a substantial portion of the over $150 million commission. In the event that Ameri Energy refuses to come to the negotiation table, GoG should repudiate the Agreement on the grounds of fraud,” the report said.

According to the Committee, the BOOT Agreement was signed as an emergency power agreement to help reduce the power supply deficit at the time, and the project was expected to be delivered within 90 days after the fulfillment of conditions precedent.

It said the delay in implementing the BOOT Agreement “defeated its classification as an emergency project.”

Grossly Unfair

“Even though the plant is operational, several omissions and concessions were made in the BOOT Agreement which require re-negotiation, amendments and restructuring of the Agreement. The Agreement simply is grossly unfair and is not as it presently stands, in the best interest of Ghana.

“The Committee has enumerated technical, financial and legal observations and recommendations in the report that are aimed at rectifying the anomalies in the BOOT Agreement for effective and efficient implementation of the project,” it added.

It said that the recommendations were also to serve “as a guide for future negotiations of power projects,” and advised that the government “should take all necessary measures to avoid power supply deficits which result in the execution of emergency power agreements.”

Minister’s Directive

Minister of Energy Boakye Agyarko inaugurated the 17-member Committee on February 1, 2017 to review, restructure and recommend areas for amendment of the BOOT Agreement and the committee had reviewed the agreement “based on its technical, financial and legal merits/demerits and identified issues that should form the basis for re-negotiation of them BOOT Agreement with Ameri Energy.”

Heated Debate

The AMERI deal, which involved the installation of 10 General Electric TM 2500 aero-derivative gas turbines at the cost of over $510 million at the Aboadze Power enclave, near Takoradi in the Western Region, later turned out to be exorbitant for the taxpayer, thereby sparking heated political debate.

The lid was blown in December 2015 by award-winning Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG) which published that the power generating gas turbines were estimated to cost $220 on the international market, but the NDC government contracted them for $510 million for Ghana, excluding service charges.

The newspaper's investigative journalist tracked a Pakistani-born Norwegian, Umar Farooq Zahoor, a fugitive who is said to have played a lead role as a director in the deal between Ameri Group and the government.

According to the Norwegians, Umar Farooq was said to be the middleman between the Ghana government and the Dubai-based single-purpose company.

Umar Farooq, the newspaper said, was being pursued by the authorities in Norway as well as Interpol for organised crime, including money laundering.

Legal Action

AMERI Energy later said it was suing the Norwegian newspaper for $150 million over reports of alleged fraud that the company engaged in relating to the supply of the 10 gas turbines to the Government of Ghana.

The charge of defamation, according to AMERI’s lawyers, was over “incessant and relentless defamatory campaign against a fair and transparent business deal between our client and the Government of Ghana for the procurement, installation and operation of 10 gas turbines on Build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis.”

It is unclear whether AMERI Energy was able to pursue the defamation suit.

DUMELO BUSTED WITH MISSING CARS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, March 24, 2017 

National Security operatives have caught popular movie actor John Dumelo with a vehicle belonging to the state and retrieved it from a spraying shop.

Dumelo was allegedly attempting to conceal the identity of the black V8 Toyota Land Cruiser with registration GE 8118 –16 when the operatives pounced on it at a garage at Abelemkpe in Accra where it had purportedly been sent for re-spraying.

The vehicle, with chassis number JTMHVOJ2F4159829, 2015 model with full option, has been parked at the Office of the President Annex for almost one month.

When the operatives invited him to the garage, he reportedly panicked and shook like rain-beaten chick, before surrendering the expensive vehicle without any protest.

The operatives, upon a tip-off, swooped on the garage a couple of weeks ago and got hold of the auto mechanic who told them that the vehicle belonged to John Dumelo.

He was then telephoned to come to the garage and upon arrival, he’s reported to have first said that he bought the V8 from a car dealer, Svani Company Limited, and claimed he was yet to complete the payment.

The operatives then keyed in the chassis number into a centralized computer system but the results showed that the vehicle was registered in the name of the National Security Secretariat which is a property of the Government of Ghana.

Sensing he was getting into trouble, he’s reported to have quickly changed his story, claiming that it was former First Lady Lordina Mahama who had given the V8 to him.

The security operatives immediately decided to crosscheck from the First Lady to ascertain the facts but the actor (Dumelo) reportedly pleaded with them to stop and just take the vehicle away.

 The operatives’ checks at Svani Motors along the Spintex Road indicated that the company imported the vehicle for the National Security Council Secretariat and that the company is one of the several auto dealers used by the government to import vehicles for the state.

When the security personnel got to the garage, the vehicle had been dismantled and was going through re-modeling, including re-spraying - with parts allegedly imported from Dubai.

John Dumelo was said to have brought some spare parts from Dubai to enhance the looks of the vehicle.

DAILY GUIDE sources say he reportedly got two V8s from the NDC government, with his girlfriend driving one of them.

When he was asked to direct the operatives to the whereabouts of the other vehicle, he pleaded with them to allow him to travel to London and return to produce it.

According to sources, Dumelo had released the other V8 which is believed to be ash in colour to his girlfriend who is currently using it. He told the operatives that he was going to return it after the girlfriend had returned from a trip she had used it for. 

As at press time yesterday, the second vehicle had not been returned.

Dumelo’s Reaction

When he was reached via telephone for his comments yesterday, John Dumelo said, “I wouldn’t like to comment about it.”

In 2012, he appeared subtly in the NDC campaign that saw Mr. Mahama winning the election in a controversial fashion following the sudden death of President John Evans Atta Mills.

He was very active during the 2016 election which sent the NDC packing into opposition; he was seen on several platforms campaigning for the party prior to the poll.

He was reportedly appointed operations director for ‘Agenda For Mahama’ - a pro-NDC youth group - and was given unfettered access to the various senior high schools (SHS) to campaign for President Mahama, although the NDC government had made it look as if he was on tour to campaign for a peaceful election.

De-Facto Youth Leader

At a point the NDC turned John Dumelo into a de-facto NDC National Youth Organizer and was made to speak at party programmes even after people like the founder, Jerry John Rawlings, had addressed the crowd.

He emphatically stated that then NPP flag bearer and now president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, could never be president because Mr. Mahama was going to retain power.

One of his Twitter followers asked him ,“@johndumelo1 what do you think about nana addo becoming the president of Ghana?” and this was John’s response: “I have nothing against Nana Addo, but I only see one person being sworn in come January 2017 and it’s not him (Nana).”

Missing Vehicles

Last week, J. Ayikoi Otoo who was the Chairman of the Asset and Vehicles Committee for the NPP’s side of the transition team, confirmed that about 234 vehicles out of the list of over 700 vehicles presented to the NPP government by the opposition NDC were missing.

“We were able to identify 67 vehicles not listed, and so if you deduct the 67 vehicles from the 301 missing vehicles, we still have 234 vehicles that could not be accounted for so the figure that came from Mr. Arhin’s office is correct, and if they want me as the Chair to confirm, I am confirming, and I am saying the figure is over 200,” he told the presidential press corps.

MAHAMA BOYS UNDER FIRE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, March 24, 2017

The humiliating defeat suffered by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is unearthing a lot of secrets that were hitherto unknown to the public.

The so-called ‘experienced’ people in the opposition party are all now accusing ex-President John Mahama of running a failed campaign by surrounding himself with ‘young’ and ‘inexperienced’ people; and that led to the party’s crushing defeat during the December 7, 2016 general elections.

Two names that are on the lips of these ‘senior’ NDC members are ex-President Mahama’s trusted aide Stan Dogbe and Dr. Edward Omane Boamah - who was the Minister of Communications, as well as Kofi Adams, 2016 Campaign Coordinator.

Wise Counsel

They are also accusing the ex-president of not heeding to wise counsel from senior party members and using his boys to suppress dissenting views in the run-up to the election.

In the past week, party activists like Koku Anyidoho, Deputy General Secretary; Anita Desooso, Vice Chairperson; Joseph Bipoba Naabu, NDC MP for Yunyoo; Yaw Boateng Gyan, former National Organizer, among many others, have all claimed the then NDC presidential candidate sidelined most of the executives and dealt only with the young guys during the campaign.

A member of the communications team of the party, Agbesi Notsu, has described National Organizer Kofi Adams as a ‘disaster’ who contributed hugely to the NDC’s shameful defeat.

According to him, Kofi Adams did a terrible job as the Campaign Coordinator, which set the party on track for defeat in the polls.

Speaking to Kasapa Fm, Mr Agbesi Notsu stated that the choice of Mr Kofi Adams as the Campaign Coordinator effectively marked the beginning of the NDC’s defeat.

“Kofi Adams failed completely; he was a disaster,” he charged.

Inexperienced Appointees

The latest to enter the fray is Dr. Kwabena Adjei, former National Chairman of the NDC who stated unequivocally that it was the inexperienced people around President Mahma, who misled him.

“The handlers were all young, inexperienced and they misled him. I will say this anywhere without any fear or favour. We, the old ones, come with experience, he should have listened to us (senior NDC officials),” he told Accra-based Starr FM on Wednesday.

He, however, said everybody in the NDC should take the blame, asserting, “We are all responsible for it. I cannot exonerate myself from that responsibility.”

Dr. Adjei, popularly called ‘Wayo Wayo,’ who had brought the NDC to power in 2008 as chairman and retained it in 2012 as well, said he was sidelined in President Mahama’s campaign to seek re-election.

“Nobody involved me in the campaign; I involved myself…no I wasn’t invited…I tried to get access to the president and I didn’t get access, when I noticed things were going wrong, I tried and tried and tried but I didn’t get access so I mobilized myself…and did what I could do,” the 74-year-old politician said.

Dr Kwabena Adjei said he was not surprised the NDC lost the election and added that his absence as chairman of the party also contributed to the party’s defeat.

“I wasn’t surprised the NDC lost…because when they voted me out in Kumasi, they voted the party out. It was a done deal. I am not superstitious but I came to the party with my own style…and I had a way of relating to the people.”

The former NDC Chairman said the party’s delegates allowed their conscience to be influenced with money and voted him out since he was not prepared to induce them with money.

He added that the monetization of politics in the country should cease since it was ruining the country’s fledgling democracy.

President Akufo-Addo

The former NDC Chairman also said he was elated that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is his contemporary in politics, has become president.

“I’m happy because he comes with a wealth of experience that will help and then a certain respectability from the elder people.

“Now it is like, he is too old; he is 74, so we the young ones must take over. You, the young one sitting here, if I ask you the history of Ghana, you will not be able to tell me,” Dr Adjei said.

“Yes! I’m very happy, because you go to the net, [internet] and find out the number of leaders in the world, from 90 down… Mugabe, Queen Elizabeth right down, Trump is there; Buhari is there; I’m happy Akufo-Addo is in. He is my age. I’m older than Akufo-Addo by a few months,” he stated.

NDC CRACKS DEEPEN

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Nemesis appears to be catching up with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as members admit that cracks in the former ruling party were more than the picture being painted about the then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

With just three months in opposition, the NDC may be heading for implosion as accusations and counter accusations are freely traded.

A top member, Yaw Boateng Gyan, yesterday admitted that the cracks in the NDC are wider than what the public perceives.

Mr Yaw Boateng Gyan, who was once the NDC national organizer and presidential staffer under President Atta Mills, said the then ruling party was more divided than the then opposition NPP, even before the crucial December 7, 2016 general election - although then President John Mahama created the impression that the party was the most united in Ghana’s history.

The Mahama administration invested heavily in creating divisions in NPP in order to get an electoral advantage – reportedly doling out cash and expensive vehicles to leading members through slush funds set aside for that agenda; but it has turned out to be an albatross hanging on his neck.

Glaring Pretence

Exactly one month before the general election in which the NDC was humiliated thereby confining Mr. Mahama to becoming a one-term president in Ghana’s political history, he was in the Ashanti Region pretending all was well with the then ruling party and that the NPP was not ready for power because its then candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was a divisive leader.

President Mahama had said at New Edubiase on a campaign tour that also took him to Adansi Asokwa, Adansi Akrofuom, Obuasi West and East Constituencies on November 7, 2016 that he wanted the electorate to continue to keep the NPP in opposition until, as he put it, “they put their house in order.”

The opposition party, he claimed, was more divided than any other political grouping and therefore noted that it could not govern the country when given the mandate.

“Today, the party that is ready to govern this country is the NDC. Why am I saying so? Today, the NDC is the most united and well organised party than any other party in Ghana. Look at what’s going on in the NPP. The NPP is divided into two factions. If that party is rife with these divisions even in opposition, what will happen if we give them power?” Then NDC presidential candidate Mahama jabbed.

Pure Deceit

However, it is now turning out that, then President Mahama was only throwing dust into the eyes of the public in order to make the NDC look presentable to the electorate by condemning the NPP and its candidate, President Akufo-Addo.

In just over two months in opposition, utterances of most of the top executives of the party have shown clearly that the NDC is heavily divided and Mr. Boateng Gyan’s claim lends credence to the facts available.

Frank Assessment

Speaking on Abusua FM in Kumasi yesterday on a wide range of issues affecting the NDC, Mr Yaw Boateng Gyan said,  “Kwame,” (referring to the host) “believe me…the NDC was much more divided than the NPP but we pretended as if all was well and decided to talk about the NPP’s troubles.”

“People who dared to talk publicly about the party’s challenges were vilified and sidelined, how were we going to hear diverging opinions internally?” he asked.

“If we had paid attention to what people, our own party people, were saying, I am telling you the NDC wouldn’t have been in opposition by now,” he observed.

Arrogant Officers

“The other issue has to do with the way and manner our people were talking to the electorate…very arrogant and disrespectful, how would we have appealed to the voters?” Mr. Boateng Gyan added.

“Kwame, some of us couldn’t talk because they said we had been voted out of the executive position of the party and so we shouldn’t talk…a lot of things went wrong.”

“The grassroots of the party were angry because they were not resourced to work for the party, rather outsiders and strangers were enjoying all the party’s resources for campaigns.”

“For example, common party billboards…the party had to send people from Accra to come to my hometown in Sunyani to erect billboards when our own local people could have been engaged, so they felt sidelined and so refused to contribute their energy to the campaign.”

“If you look at all these factors, must you be told that the party was deeply divided? ….we were even lucky the grassroots of the party didn’t rise up in anger against those sent from Accra to fix campaign materials at the local level,” he posited.

Small Boys’ Management

Immediately after the NDC’s crashing defeat, Mr. Boateng Gyan vowed to ensure that “small boys” will never manage ex-President Mahama.

“President Mahama is the most marketed person in NDC and if he’ll come back as the flag bearer, he will not come with those small boys. We’ll not allow those small boys to surround and manage him again. Stan Dogbe and the rest who have no political experience but yet managed President Mahama let the NDC down in this election,” he said on December 14, last year when the party was reeling under the shock of its election defeat.

Mr Boateng Gyan had added, “We’ll not allow them to disgrace Mahama the second time. We’ve vowed to let these small boys know that there are elders in NDC with vast political experience and they’ll manage our future flag bearer. We have the likes of Kojo Tsikata, Ato Ahwoi, Totobi Quakyi, Iddrisu Mahama and Issifu Ali. These are the people who will work with our next leader. As for these small boys, we’ll fight them. Politics is no child‘s play.”

Mills’ Death

Mr. Boateng Gyan was the same man who said if the NDC ‘pushed’ him to the wall he would spill the beans over who killed President John Evans Atta Mills.

His outburst had come in December 2014 when the party was going to congress to elect its national officers.

He eventually lost his position to Kofi Iddi Adams in an acrimonious fashion and later blamed the presidency for ensuring his defeat in the party’s election.

Liability

However, the NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Yunyoo in the Northern Region, Joseph Bipoba Naabu Mahama, has stressed that Mahama may not have a second chance because he is a liability to the party.

The Yunyoo MP said if the NDC makes the mistake and fields John Mahama for 2020, he will lose more miserably to either Nana Akufo-Addo or Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia; and the party will see more disintegration.

Some other top executives like Deputy General Secretary Koku Anyidoho and Anita Desoso, a vice chairperson of the NDC, have made their intentions known by displaying their desire for another candidate for the 2020 presidential election apart from President Mahama.

NDC PLOTS TO DITCH MAHAMA

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

The plot to ditch ex-President John Dramani Mahama for the 2020 presidential election by some powerful opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) members is thickening by the day.

The party’s leadership is currently embroiled in what can be described as a blame game following the massive defeat suffered by it (party) in the hands of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the December 7, 2016 general election.

Some of the top figures like Deputy General Secretary Koku Anyidoho and Anita Desooso, a vice chairperson, have reportedly made their intentions known by expressing their desire for another candidate for the 2020 presidential election apart from former President Mahama.

The NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Yunyoo in the Northern Region, Joseph Naabu Bipoba, has also joined the fray, saying John Mahama’s candidature is out of the equation just like former MP for La Dadekotopon, Nii Amasah Namoale.

The Yunyoo MP says the former president lacks “competence”  to lead the NDC’s re-election bid in the 2020 general election. Nii Amassah Namoale also has called on Mr Mahama to rescind his decision to contest in the 2020 polls since he would not win the party’s primary.

 “I will beat anyone who would contest with me, including John Mahama…,” he said on Accra-based Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ programme yesterday as the NDC gears up for re-organisation.

Bad Choice

Naabu Bipoba told journalists in parliament yesterday that former President Mahama would be a bad choice for the NDC.

“He was the president and contested with Nana Akufo-Addo and lost miserably so if President Mahama comes, what is he going to do? Is he the only person?” he asked.

The Yunyoo MP said former President Mahama is to blame for NDC’s shameful defeat in the 2016 general election because he surrounded himself with political neophytes like former Communications Minister, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, at the presidency “who told him nothing but lies.”

“People at the presidency were just telling him lies. Take Omane Boamah; what experience has he got in politics? If he goes to contest an election at where he comes from, can he win? But the president listened to such people,” he wondered.

Explosive Interview

Koku  Anyidoho recently said in an explosive interview with GHOne TV that leadership in the NDC would have to rotate, indicating that the NDC might not front Mr. Mahama as its candidate in 2020.

 Anita Desooso is also currently in a fierce ‘fight’ with some NDC members for saying that the party’s executives were undermined during the election s which the NDC presidential candidate managed only 44.4%.

Mr. Anyidoho reiterated his ‘love’ for Prof John Evans Atta Mills who died suddenly in July 2012, giving ex-President Mahama, who was then the vice president, the chance to contest the 2012 election without any opposition from within the party.

Axe To Grind

The Deputy General Secretary clearly showed in the interview that he has an axe to grind with ex-President Mahama.

When asked whether he loves President Mahama, Mr. Anyidoho rather brazenly reiterated his ‘love’ for President Mills and could only say that he only had a working relationship with President Mahama.

“I will never regret working for him… President Mills, I salute you in your grave. Nobody will take that away from me,” he said forcefully.

He then went on to state boldly that he loves the NDC as a party and that “leadership will rotate,” insisting that “I loved President Mills; I worked for President Mahama.”

Anita’s Crusade

Anita Desooso on the other hand, has vowed to help restore dignity to the party’s leadership by ensuring that the structures of the party are respected.

According to the former NDC National Women’s Organizer, the various groups formed to campaign for the second term for President Mahama caused the party’s defeat.

In the run-up to the crucial election, the NDC, with state resource at its disposal, formed many splinter groups to promote the second term bid for the president.

Groups likes Girls Girls for Mahama, Zongo Girls for Mahama, Zongo for Mahama, Youth for Mahama, Celebrities for Mahama, Mahama Ladies, I Choose JM, Ambassadors for Mahama, Doves for Mahama and others, were formed with massive resources at their disposal to prosecute the agenda which failed woefully in the end as Ghanaians overwhelmingly rejected Mahama.

Some have said the pro-Mahama groups even became more powerful in terms of campaign resources than the party’s structures, including the national executive.

So-called Groups

Anita told Kasapa FM recently that there was no doubt that the so-called groups contributed to the party’s defeat because the party’s structures were ignored.

“These campaign groups which emerged in the run-up to the December 7, 2016 elections contributed to our loss in that election. After these groups were formed, the structures that are known to the party rather suffered as they were denied resources,” she said.

Executives Shortchanged

She stated categorically that the party lacked the needed resources to project candidate Mahama saying, “The groups were rather benefitting as they went for funds from certain quarters, and while they were happy, the grassroots were complaining.”

Anita Desooso said, “Some of these groups could go to the Volta Region purporting to do campaigning, but went there to speak English instead of the Ewe language,” asking, “How can you do such a campaign?”

As a result, she asserted, “I’ve vowed to make sure that the NDC amends its constitution; whichever group it is should start from the structures…start from the branch level.”

NDC sources say apart from National Organizer Kofi Iddi Adams who doubled as the Campaign Coordinator of the failed Mahama second term bid and Siidi Abubakar, the National Youth Organizer, almost every powerful executive member is seriously working against the return of President Mahama as NDC candidate - including General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia.

Subtle Plan

There are also claims that Mr Johnson Asiedu-Nketia aka General Mosquito was instrumental in the formation of the 13-member committee being Chaired by Professor Kwesi Botchwey to investigate why the party lost massively in the December general election.

A source has said that the powerful General Secretary could be using the committee to prepare the grounds to contest as the party’s national chairman as he claims the current one -  Kofi Portuphy - has become unpopular due to the fact that he is being accused of supervising the party’s humiliating defeat at the hands of the Akufo-Addo-led NPP.

Mahama’s Humiliation

The NPP’s candidate Nana Akufo-Addo made sure that President Mahama became a one-term president in the history of Ghana by flooring him ‘one-touch’ with 5,716,026 votes, representing 53.85% while Mr. Mahama secured 4,713,277 votes, representing 44.40%.

The NDC has now entered into a new political dispensation as minority in parliament with only 104 seats against the NPP’s 171.