By William
Yaw Owusu
Friday, November
10, 2017
The hijacking of the so-called ‘unity walk’ of the
National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Cape Coast in the Central Region last
Sunday by members of the party supposedly loyal to former President John Mahama
is causing uneasy calm in the opposition political grouping.
The ‘dog fight’ appears to have been started after a
former Consul General under the Mahama-led NDC government, Daniel Osei,
criticized the way the organizers ‘skewed’ the whole programme in favour of the
former president.
Former President Mahama was the only speaker allowed
after the walk, although almost all the other NDC gurus who have declared their
intentions to lead the NDC in 2020 were present.
Currently on the various social media platforms,
especially WhatsApp groups, some NDC
members have taken entrenched positions and are defending or condemning the
actions of the organizers of the walk - which the party claims is supposed to
unite its rank and file ahead of the 2020 general elections after the massive
defeat in 2016.
Genuine
Concern
Mr Daniel
Osei expressed concern about the way the ex-president is being given unfettered
access to party activities at the expense of other activists who are all vying
to lead the NDC in 2020, warning that the action would not promote the much
needed unity.
“As platforms supporting JM (former President) share
clips of him and enjoy chats relative to the walk and his speech, can you
imagine how disgruntled the Friends of Spio (Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah) and other
platforms are discussing matters relative to the treatment meted out to their
candidate?” he observed.
“We lost 19 out of the 23 or so seats in the Central
Region. Can we afford to lose any votes in the Central Region? Or is singing
Mahama's praises enough to win us back all the seats and votes we lost in the
region? It's time to challenge our thoughts and positions,” he charged.
Humble
Question
The former envoy posited, “Of all the Mahama
supporters, I ask humbly, how many of you see it as uniting to deny any of the
aspirants a chance to speak yesterday and how many of those who saw it as
inappropriate are willing to say anything to the president and his handlers? If
any of you see it as problematic, you have a responsibility to at least share
and discuss it and it may get someone's attention. It can only help. Silence is
not a good option.”
He said, “I spoke to three of the aspirants
yesterday and a couple of the organizers and a minister who was on stage. Every
single one was disappointed. I asked them individually if anyone has made their
disappointment known to the president and his team. Sadly, none has. Are we
safe to navigate the rough road ahead of us?”
He queried: “Can we afford to enter the 2020
elections on the wings of sycophancy?” adding, “There must be a renewed sense
of urgency in how we move forward.”
Sinare’s
Reply
As the debate ensued, former Ambassador to Saudi
Arabia, Saed Sinare, reportedly fired Mr Daniel Osei - who once contested and
lost the Ashanti Akim North parliamentary primary of the NDC - for daring to
question the party’s leadership over the special treatment for the ex-president
during the walk.
“It's been pain-stricken to note that a comrade in
the person of Hon Daniel Osei, the NDC's parliamentary candidate in the 2012
general elections and former Consul General at Ghana's mission in Dubai and
indeed under my watch as the Ambassador in-charge of Saudi Arabia and the other
Gulf Countries, would come out to make such damning remarks about the party's
much touted UNITY WALKS,” Sinare, who has gone underground since his prediction
of the NDC’s victory in 2016, allegedly stated.
“I would have thought that a man having a jolly
decline in his political career but yet benefited from the benevolence of H. E.
John Mahama, would have learnt some lessons going forward,” adding, “Losing
your parliamentary primary to comrade Mary Awusi in the Asante Akyem North
Constituency where you served as DCE before being appointed by the former
president as Consul General to Dubai, couldn't have been the fault of anyone in
the NDC.”
Attack
Dogs
Mr Daniel Osei shot back quickly saying that anytime
one talked about the former president, they sent their ‘attack dogs’ to devour
the one.
“The MO has always been to send out the attack dogs
and I expected nothing less. There shouldn't be any doubt the objective of
their attack is to conjecture enough and obfuscate the critical issue of
whether or not John Dramani Mahama is our best candidate and if forcing him on
the party.
“It's all an attempt to cover up the fact; Mahama
gave us the most emphatic and worst electoral defeat in the history of our
nation.”
Worst
Defeat
He said, “JM inherited a stronger party than what it
is today. What happened? They want to change the subject. After delivering the
worst electoral results in the history of our party, it makes little or no
sense to return JM to lead us in 2020.”
Mr Daniel Osei further claimed, “As a fellow
northerner, maybe Sinare should explain to all of us why and how Bawumia and
the NPP successfully encroached on our votes in 2012 and took away seats from
us and did it again and took away even more votes and seats in 2016 and how
bringing back JM, the same man the North keeps rejecting, will improve our
electoral fortunes in the north.
“Any
thinking person can see electorally, the north has concluded; Mahama's values
are not their values and has rejected his leadership.”
Chairmen
Interestingly,
while there is dog fight over who leads the NDC, the 10 regional chairmen of
the party appear to have thrown their weight behind the former president.
After
a meeting yesterday they issued a communiqué in which they urged the former
president to consider running for the 2020 polls.
The
brief statement did not give further details as to why they were making the
call.
They
also urged Mahama to embark on a “Thank you” tour of the country although
belated, to thank party loyalists for their support during the December 2016
polls.
The
chairmen, who signed the communiqué were Kobina Ade-Coker, Greater Accra;
Micheal Aidoo, Western; Alhaji Mumuni Bolnaba, Upper East; John K. Gyapong,
Volta; Opoku Atuahene, Brong Ahafo; Matthew Song-Aabo, Upper West; Bismark
Tawiah Boateng, Eastern; and Yaw Obimpeh, Ashanti.
The
others are Alhaji Sofo Azorka, Northern and Allotey Jacobs of the Central
Region.
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