By William
Yaw Owusu
Monday August
13, 2018
Another member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)
has formally declared his intention to contest the position of the party’s
flagbearer for the 2020 presidential election, with a promise to share a new
‘vision’.
George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, a former Central
Regional Minister during the Mahama-led NDC administration and currently the
party’s MP for Cape Coast South in the Central Region, wants to challenge his
boss and other gurus who are all lacing their boots for the top job.
He says NDC needs new ‘vision’, ‘direction’ and
‘start’ which should be hinged on the party’s principles of probity and
accountability in order to win the 2020 elections.
Usual
Suspects
With former President John Mahama entering the race
alongside Prof Joshua Alabi (former Rector of University of Professional
Studies), Sylvester Mensah (former CEO of NHIA), Alban Bagbin (current deputy
Speaker of Parliament and MP for Nadowli Kaleo), and Ekwow Spio-Garbrah (former
Trade and Industry Minister), Mr. Ricketts-Hagan becomes the 6th NDC
guru to officially declare his intention to lead the party in 2020.
The NDC flagged off the race on August 2, announcing
that presidential hopefuls can campaign.
Interestingly, the announcement was made at the time
the party was yet to elect national officers who are going to preside over the
process and set guidelines for the conduct of candidates.
Various sources have said the main opposition party
was stampeded in lifting the ban on campaigning following declarations by minority
MPs to throw their weight behind ex-President John Mahama.
However, the party in lifting the ban, gave a caveat
that aspirants should notify the party before hitting the ground.
New
Vision
Mr. Ricketts-Hagan, who was also a deputy Minister
of Trade and Industry and also a deputy at the Ministry of Finance, notified
the NDC General Secretary in a letter on his intention to enter the race on
August 10, 2018.
The letter was copied to the NDC Founder, former
President J.J. Rawlings; Council of Elders, National Chairman Kofi Portuphy; as
well as the Cape Coast South Constituency office.
He said “With your permission, I will proceed to
officially launch my campaign to enable me take my case to our people across
the length and breadth of our country. I hope to share a new vision, a new
start and a new direction anchored on our principles and values of
accountability, probity, social justice and transparency that will give us
realistic chance of winning power back in 2020.”
He added that “I am of the firm belief (sic) that
the NDC party, if well strengthened and reinvigorated to reflect the modern
aspirations of our people, will continue to remain relevant to Ghanaians,
because it is naturally the only political party in Ghana that can genuinely
develop the resources nature has endowed with us, sustainably by making use of
full mobilization of talents and energies of all our people, to get us out of
poverty, improve the living conditions of our people and hold a better prospect
for our people.”
“I am by this letter also assuring NEC and the
entire party that I would conduct a decent campaign devoid of any negatives and
abide by the NDC’s ‘rules of engagement’ in conducting the presidential
primaries.”
Uneasy
Calm
Already, there has been an uneasy calm in the NDC
since they were sent packing by the electorate in favour of the New Patriotic
Party on December 7, 2016, making Mr. Mahama a one-term President.
The temperature heightened when it became clear that
Mr. Mahama is preparing to contest the presidential election once again, using
the NDC Unity Walk as a stepping stone.
Some elders of the party, especially those from the
Volta Region, which is the NDC’s stronghold, have dumped Mr. Mahama for Joshua
Alabi, the immediate–past Rector of the University of Professional Studies
(UPSA), to lead the party in 2020.
Mr. Gbeho took a swipe at Mr. Mahama recently when
he called him a failure for leading the party to a miserable defeat in the 2016
election and called on the rank and file to dump the former President and
rather support Prof. Alabi to lead the NDC.
The open condemnation by Mr. Gbeho and others has
incensed some Mahama loyalists like former Eastern Regional Minister, Emmanuel
Victor Smith who said the experienced diplomat and his associates have personal
scores to settle with Mr. Mahama.
According to Victor Smith, Mr Gbeho and other old
guards of the party, who are against Mr Mahama’s comeback, are full of
bitterness.
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