National Democratic Congress (NDC) stalwart and former Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central Alhaji Inusah Fuseini has defended the decision of the NDC national leadership to change the leadership of the NDC minority caucus in Parliament. He described the change as forward-looking and not a suggestion of failure on the part of the old leadership.
Speaking on Pan-African TV, Alhaji Inusah argued that the change is a strategic repositioning of the party in that Parliament will become battleground for the NDC as it seeks to wrestle power from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2024.
“… Energy will play a critical role in debates in Parliament; Infrastructure will play a critical role in debates…So the reshuffle is simply not to say the old leadership, the leadership of Haruna Iddrisu did not do well. No! Far from it. I have had occasion to tell him[ Haruna Iddrisu] time and again that he had done well. But this reshuffle is forward-looking. What is the goal? The goal is to secure victory, to win, to use Parliament as a battleground to win the minds and hearts of the people of Ghana and engender sympathy towards the NDC for election 2024,” he argued.
He stressed that the change in the national leadership and subsequently the parliamentary leadership of the party is to send a signal of the party’s strategic repositioning given the prevailing circumstances.
“Now that being so, you have to put your best foot forward. Strategic repositioning of the party does not mean that those who were replaced did not do well.
Again strategic repositioning and election of new current executive is to send a signal that this is what NDC is doing: to position people in such a way so that the party cannot lose election 2024. And that is what has been done. And that is why I respect and I support it. And I will defend it anywhere,” he noted on Pan African TV
The new leadership of Parliament for the NDC minority caucus is headed by Cassiel Ato Forson.
A lecturer in political science at the Kumasi Technical University, Dr. Smart Sarpong, believes that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) may lose the Asawase seat as a result of Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka’s resignation as the Minority Chief Whip in parliament.
According to him, the votes from the Ashanti Region form more than some of the votes from the party’s strongholds in other parts of the country.
He insisted that the Asawase constituency contributed significantly to the electoral victory of the NDC.
Dr. Sarpong said that he fears the agitation being witnessed by some constituents of Asawase could cause the party to suffer heavily in the general elections.
In an interview with Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV, he warned the NDC against moves that could weaken their chances of winning the next election, adding that “the NDC should not think that they have won the 2024 elections.”
“Muntaka is the only NDC MP within the Central Business District (CBD) in the Ashanti Region, so why remove him?
“NDC votes in the Ashanti region is more than many of votes from the so-called strongholds of the NDC. If the disturbances in Asawase reflects into votes, the NDC may lose the Asawase seat for the first time,” he stated.
The political scientist further stated that if the current agitations and unresolved tensions are not tackled, it will definitely affect the votes that the NDC will receive from the region.
“If you reflect on the gains made by the party in Asawase in 2020 and now that there’s division in the party, what it means is that NPP needs about 1,000 votes to snatch the seat from NDC and no one should take Muntaka for granted,” he told morning show host, Kwesi Parker-Wilson.
He added that the electoral gains chalked by the NDC in the Ashanti Region was largely due to Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka’s role in the region.
He called on the party to save itself by rescinding its decision to oust the Haruna Iddrisu administration from the leadership of parliament.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) will engage members of the minority caucus on January 31, 2023, according to Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the minority leader in parliament, to discuss the group’s unresolved issues.
There has been a division among members of the group following a reshuffle of its leadership by the national executives of the National Democratic Congress NDC.
Speaking to journalists after a meeting with leadership of the NDC, the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson assured of a collaboration with the former leaders of the caucus to deliver on their mandate in Parliament.
“We have just come out of a very successful meeting with the leadership of the party. We are going to deliver on our mandate. ”
“And as has been agreed with the leadership of the party, there will be series of activities that will be undertaken beginning from today. We will have our maiden meeting with our leadership and the party leadership on Tuesday,” he added.
The NDC earlier this week replaced Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu with Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle also replaced Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Governs Agbodza replaced Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.
Several NDC MPs including MP for Bolgatanga East, Dominic Ayine, and Tamale Central MP, Murtala Muhammed later described the leadership changes as undemocratic and deeply worrying, after they claimed they were not consulted prior to the change.
Some 44 MPs signed a petition to reject the decision of the party. The 44 members believe the decision by the party is unfair and unpopular.
However, some 77 MPs have also reportedly signed a different petition to endorse the decision of the party.
The National Organiser of theNational Democratic Congress (NDC), Joseph Yamin, has said that the national executive of the party does not need the consent of the party’s parliamentary caucus before making any decision.
According to him, the executives of the party have been given the power by the constitution of the NDC to make appointments including that of the party’s leadership in Parliament.
“I don’t fault anybody who has issues with the change in leadership but the point is that the national executives of the party have been given some power to make appointments including that of the leadership of Parliament.
“What we did was a reshuffle and there is no timeframe for it. These current executives have been in office for at least seven years. Haruna Iddrisu was the minority leader from 2017 to yesterday. Mutaka has been chief whip from when the NDC was in power.
“I don’t see anything wrong when the party takes a decision and says that at this moment, we should let some new faces take over. It was the party’s decision and the party did not take the decision without consulting those who were removed. We don’t need to consult the caucus. Let us not forget that those who were removed were also appointed by the party,” he said in Twi.
Yamin also posited that the party’s parliamentary caucus is not bigger than the party for its executives to seek their permission before taking decisions.
“Is the caucus bigger than the party’s national executive, is that what they want to tell us?” he added in an interview on Ark FM monitored by GhanaWeb, on Wednesday, January 26, 2023.
The change in the leadership of the minority caucus of Parliament has led to some confusion in the NDC with some members of the party, including some Members of Parliament saying that the party’s parliamentarians should have been consulted before the move.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic who replaced the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, he will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress dated January 23, 2023.
Sixty members of Parliament on the Minority side on Wednesday rejected the decision by the National Executive of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to change their leadership.
The MPs gave vim to their stance by appending their signatures to a petition seeking a reversal of the decision to remove Haruna Iddrisu, James Klutse Avedzi and Muntaka Mubarak from the party’s leadership in the House.
Ellembelle MP, Kofi Armah Buah is expected to replace James Klutse Avedzi as Deputy Minority Leader.
Kwame Agbodza becomes the Chief Whip for the opposition side and will be deputised by Banda MP, Ahmed Ibrahim and Ada legislator, Comfort Doyo Ghansah respectively.
But the sixty MPs disagree with the party leadership’s decision. thus have called for further consulation.
Dr Ato Forson on Thursday promised to do everything within his power to unite the caucus before he eventually assumes his position on February 7 when Parliament resumes from recess.
But addressing the press on Thursday, Muntaka Mubarak said the new leadership should be patient and allow consultations to take place between the minority caucus and the party executives.
Muntaka also revealed that discussions between the former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu and newly appointed Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson were not fruitful.
His comment contradicts claims by Dr Ato Forson who said on Thursday that he had held fruitful discussions with his former leader following his appointment by the party.
According to Muntaka, the Tamale South MP was “irritated” during the said meeting and outlined certain measures that needed to be taken which Muntaka claims were ignored by the MP for Ajumako-Enyam-Essiam.’
“I can tell you that the meeting was not fruitful. He mentioned some measures that they had to take, but that was not done. I can tell you that he was irritated at the meeting,” Muntaka said during a press conference on Thursday.
He also admonished the new leadership not to be in a hurry to assume their position but rather ensure that the necessary consultations are held between the NDC and the Minority caucus.
Some NDC MPs have petitioned the party leadership over recent changes on their front bench in the lawmaking house.
The legislators believe the reshuffling is premature and does not augur well for the opposition party going into the next elections given the lack of consultation.
Addressing the media on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at the behest of the NDC parliamentarians, MP for Zebilla East and former Majority Leader, Cletus Apul Avoka stressed that only a decision arrived at after broad deliberations will be accepted.
“The basis for our prayer is that the party suspends the reshuffling as indicated by the General Secretary until such a time that a holistic meeting of stakeholders with consultations before a decision is taken.”
“It is on this backdrop that the national executives of the party a few weeks ago decided that all appointees in the party and parliament should remain in office after we conclude the parliamentary and presidential primaries. We are therefore surprised that the reshuffling is reaching the caucus in Parliament. We think that this is premature.”
The Member of Parliament for Zebila, Cletus Avoka, has stated that technically, Haruna Iddrisu is still the Minority Leader.
He explained that since parliament is not currently in session, any new move that indicates that there is a new takeover cannot be in play, making it untenable that a new person has taken over.
Speaking alongside the MP for Asawase, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, who has been ousted as the Minority Chief Whip, at a press conference to react to the new decision of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), he explained that since parliament isn’t in session, it makes that new decision a murky one.
On Tuesday, January 24, 2022, the NDC sent a letter signed by its General Secretary, Asiedu Nketiah, to the Speaker of Parliament, announcing a major shakeup in its leadership in parliament.
In the letter, the party named Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson as the new minority, to be deputised by Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah.
The new Minority Chief Whip has been named Kwame Governs Agbodza, while the two Deputy Chief Whips: Ahmed Ibrahim and Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, were retained.
The Former Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak has revealed that the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament was never consulted ahead of the changes in the frontbench.
At a press conference, the Asawase legislator insisted the assertions that there were comprehensive discussions ahead of the move are false.
Addressing journalists, he said, “at no such meeting was there any agenda to discuss this.”
“It is clear that it is a letter, yes, was written by the General Secretary but the decision may just be just the decision of a few people in the party,” he added.
The NDC reshuffled its leadership in Parliament by appointing Ajumako Enyam Essiam legislator, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson as the new Minority Leader.
In the shake-up, MP for Ketu North, James Klutse Avedzi, and the MP for Asawase, Muntaka Mubarak, lost their positions as Minority leader, Deputy Minority leader and Minority Chief Whip respectively.
They have been replaced by the MP for Ajumako-Enyam-Essiam, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, MP for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Kofi Buah and MP for Adaklu, Kwame Agbodza as Minority leader, Deputy Minority leader and Minority Chief Whip respectively.
But the development has not gone down well with Mr Muntaka despite a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 31, 2023, between the Minority and the party leadership to settle some differences.
“I heard some of the officers saying that some elders were sent to talk to us. I will be happy to be mentioned which elder was set to talk to me. Because nobody was sent to talk to me,” he narrated.
The MP was in the company of Zebilla East legislator, Cletus Avoka who described the new appointments as premature and demanded the suspension of same.
Samuel Nartey George, a member of parliament for Ningo Prampram, has expressed dissatisfaction with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over what he claims were insufficient consultations prior to the decision to change the leadership of its caucus in parliament.
According to Sam George, the leadership of his party failed to conduct far-reaching consultations which would have ensured adequate deliberations to save the party from the confusion that has risen from the decision.
“The problem I see MPs having, Randy, is not about the change. The problem of the caucus is not about the change; the problem of the caucus is not about the capacity of the people who are being changed; the problem of the caucus is the lack of engagement. The fact that as members of parliament we heard about a change in leadership on the radio and many of us had eggs in our faces because we said it is fake until Adabraka came out to say that yes we wrote that letter,” he stated on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Thursday, January 26, 2023.
Sam George noted that whereas the National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, and the General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, have argued that wide consultations were done prior to the announcement, it cannot be said to have been sufficient in this case.
“I believe that their consultations may have been done at their level but I believe that it was not far-reaching enough. I believe that a little more consultation, in this case, engagements could have happened. They consulted based on what they said publicly with members of the council of elders and stakeholders in the party. After those consultations, they proceeded to write a letter to the speaker and that is where I think the crux of the matter is,” he stated.
A former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has been appointed as the Minority Leader, as replacement for Haruna Iddrisu.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has also been named as the new Deputy Minority Chief Whip.
Kwame Agbodza takes over as Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Chief Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress dated January 23, 2023.
The new Minority Leader in Parliament Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has issued a stern warning to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his large government size.
Dr. Forson said the National Democratic Congress’ MPs won’t allow President Akufo-Addo to further increase his government size which they believe is already bloated.
He gave the warning in his first public address on Thursday after his appointment as Minority Leader.
“I wish to, first of all, send a message to the New Patriotic Party (NPP), that the people of Ghana are calling on them to downsize their government to reflect the mood of the country before you ask people to forego their coupons or interests, asking the ordinary Ghanaian to sacrifice his payout.
“If the President [Nana Ado Dankwa Akufo-Addo] intends to reshuffle his government, let it be known that we in the NDC will not accept an attempt to increase the size of government. And if the current size of his ministers is increased by one person, that person will not receive our cooperation”.
There have been several calls for the government to cut down on its appointees in the wake of the current economic crisis.
Dr. Forson further warned that any additions of appointees by the government will face stiff opposition from the National Democratic Congress.
He opined that any intended government reshuffle should reflect the economic situation of the country.
He advised the rank and file of the party to keep calm.
“We want the rank and file of the party to keep calm, Members of Parliament are in good terms,” he said.
The Ajumako-Enya-Essiam MP further assured to represent the collective interest of the party.
“As a leader, it will be my duty to represent our collective goals with unwavering dedication and high integrity,” he added.
The NDC earlier this week reshuffled its leadership in Parliament replacing Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu with Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle also replaced Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Governs Agbodza replaced Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.
Several NDC MPs including MP for Bolgatanga East, Dominic Ayine and Tamale Central MP, Murtala Muhammed later described the leadership changes as undemocratic and deeply worrying, after they claimed they were not consulted prior to the change.
Some 44 MPs signed a petition to reject the decision of the party. The 44 members believe the decision by the party is unfair and unpopular.
However, some 77 MPs have also reportedly signed a different petition to endorse the decision of the party.
The Member of Parliament for Ajumako Enyan Esiam, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has expressed appreciation to the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for his appointment as the leader of the party’s caucus in parliament.
In a statement issued via his social media pages, the newly-appointed Minority Leader also expressed gratitude to his colleagues as well as members of the party for their support following his appointment.
“My dear friends, I am honoured and humbled to have been chosen to lead our illustrious and gallant caucus in Parliament.
“I thank the leadership of our party who have placed their trust and confidence in me.
“I am also deeply grateful to colleagues, the rank and file of our party and the Ghanaian people for their profound support and solidarity,” he wrote.
The new Minority Leader disclosed that he has already had a discussion with his predecessor, Haruna Iddrisu, following his appointment.
While asking for the support of the party, Ato Forson assured that his leadership will be directed towards representing the collective goals of the NDC and the caucus.
“I have held fruitful and positive conversations with my senior brother Hon. Haruna Iddrisu. I commend him for his admirable stewardship when he was granted the opportunity by our party’s leadership.
“As leader, it will be my duty to represent our collective goals with unwavering dedication and high integrity. I have no doubt that with your support we shall succeed.
“May God bless our efforts,” the new Minority Leader added.
A former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has been appointed as the new Minority Leader, as a replacement for Haruna Iddrisu.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has also been named as the new Deputy Minority Chief Whip.
Kwame Agbodza takes over as Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been retained as the First Deputy Minority Chief Whip, just as Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is still the Second Deputy Minority Chief Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress and dated January 23, 2023.
Today, January 26, 2023, the Minority caucus in Parliament is expected to meet to discuss the leadership changes announced by the National Democratic Congress national executives (NDC).
This comes following the stand-off between the NDC MPs following the changes in their leadership.
Some 44 MPs signed a petition to reject the decision of the party. The 44 members believe the decision by the party is unfair and unpopular.
However, some 77 MPs have also reportedly signed a different petition to endorse the decision of the party.
According to reports, the 77 MPs believe that Dr. Ato Forson and Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah are politically astute and have the quality to lead the party in Parliament.
The NDC in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, on Tuesday, January 24, stated that it had decided to replace Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu with Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
Other changes include Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle who has been brought in to replace Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Governs Agbodza has also replaced Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.
Several NDC MPs including MP for Bolgatanga East, Dominic Ayine and Tamale Central MP, Murtala Muhammed have described the leadership changes as undemocratic and deeply worrying, since no consultations were held with the Minority caucus.
Speaking to Citi News, the Member of Parliament for Anlo, Richard Kwami Sefe said the caucus will have a meeting at 10am today to address the concerns.
“The meeting is being called at the behest of the outgoing leadership. I believe those who have now been appointed will be part of the discussion. If we meet today, we will be able to discuss the issues thoroughly without emotions and insinuations.”
“Probably we will vote on it to see how we will go over this issue. Because if care is not taken, those who are coming may not have peace, and those who are there too if the party says no, then it’s going to cause us a lot of divisions,” the Member of Parliament for Anlo stated.
Former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Koku Anyidoho, has said that he weeps for his ‘beloved party’.
The erstwhile NDC appointee expressed this concern in reaction to the uproar in some quarters of the party, following the change in its parliamentary leadership.
Touching on the change which was announced on Tuesday, the former NDC deputy scribe alleged that it was influenced by a hideous agenda of the party’s newly elected Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah.
In a series of tweets after the change was made public, he expressed his misgivings and lamented the future of the party under Asiedu Nketiah.
“Extreme anger brewed in Asiedu-Nketiah’s NDC pot. Lots of fire under the umbrella. I weep for my beloved NDC”, he noted in one of his tweets.
“Oyiwa. The deadly seeds that have been sowed over the years that I continue to talk about, are germinating under the Leadership of Mosquito – the master brain behind lots of the bad seeds.
As for me; my vindication lies in the womb of time. ‘A ye pinsoooooooo’ “, another related tweet said.
The comments by Koku Anyidoho add to the pockets of reservations by other notable party sympathizers since the change was announced on Tuesday.
One of such prominent critics has been the Member of Parliament for the Tamale Central Constituency, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed.
According to the aggrieved legislator, the timing of the decision by the party’s hierarchy is ‘wrong’.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen on Tuesday, the audibly displeased lawmaker explained that as far as he and other colleague NDC MPs are concerned, the current crop of parliamentary leadership have been diligent in their duties.
He, therefore, questioned the rationale for the change and criticised the party’s leadership for failing to consult the entire Minority Caucus before effecting the change.
“The timing is completely wrong. What is the basis of changing our parliamentary leadership?”, Murtala Mohammed decried.
“They are only taking away the most experienced leaders and bringing the less experienced ones. Nobody told them we are dissatisfied with the leadership.
“Who told them we are unhappy with their performance?”, the disgruntled lawmaker quizzed.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has defended the party’s decision to change its parliamentary leadership.
On Tuesday morning, the NDC issued a statement announcing key changes to its parliamentary leadership.
According to the party, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has taken over from Haruna Iddrisu as the new Minority Leader.
Ellembelle MP, Kofi Armah Boah will replace James Klutse Avedzi as Deputy Minority Leader.
In a statement signed by NDC General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey, Kwame Agbodza becomes the Chief Whip for the opposition side and will be deputised by Banda MP, Ahmed Ibrahim and Ada legislator, Comfort Doyo Ghansah respectively.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with JoyNews’ Blessed Sogah after the change, Asiedu Nketiah however explained that the move is part of the party’s ‘reorganisation’ for the 2024 general election.
According to him, there have been a series of changes across all levels of the party towards the 2024 polls.
From branch elections, constituency elections, regional elections and national elections, Asiedu Nketiah said, it is now time to introduce new faces to the party’s frontline in Parliament, hence the change.
In his view, the timing is right.
“We started at the branch level. We’ve since done elections in about 40,000 branches and then from there, we proceeded to the constituency level.
“We’re done largely with all the constituencies and then we’ve done regional elections and we just completed the national elections.
“So the next in line is to take a look at our leadership in Parliament and that is what we’ve just done so in terms of timing, it is line with the way we are prosecuting the national reorganisation”, he clarified.
In his defense, he added that going into the 2024 polls, issues about the economy will become very topical and therefore the need for someone who has mastery in that regard.
This is he said is the basis for selecting Dr Cassiel Ato Forson to be the party’s new minority leader.
He added that issues surrounding energy will become critical ahead of the next elections, and therefore the party’s decision to choose Dr Kofi Armah Buah as the Deputy Minority Leader.
Touching on the Deputy Minority Leader role, he further clarified that the changing of James Klutse Avedzi’s was due to the MP’s decision to exit Parliament.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Executives have been asked by Cletus Avoka, the outgoing Zebilla Member of Parliament, to revert the Minority Caucus in Parliament’s leadership back to the previous arrangement.
Avoka speaks on changes
Avoka, a one-time Majority Leader and veteran lawmaker, has affirmed in an interview on Joy FM (January 24) that Members of Parliament (MPs) were not consulted before the changes were made.
The most significant move, according to a January 23 letter from the NDC to Speaker Alban Bagbin, is the replacement of Haruna Iddrisu (Tamale South MP) with Cassiel Ato Forson (Ajumako Enyan Essiam MP) as Minority Leader.
“It was not anticipated; it was not expected, and it is untimely as at now. Without prejudice, the gentlemen who are now in the helm of affairs… are very decent Members of Parliament.
“Without prejudice to that…I don’t know what informed the National Executives of the NDC to do this. Without an iota of consultation with some of us who are seniors in Parliament and in the party.”
He described the move as “most ill-timed, it is unstrategic, and it didn’t need to come at this time at all,” adding “I think that the National Executives should eat humble pie and withdraw the change.”
He lamented the ultimate impact of the changes, even on the upcoming primaries in May this year, stressing that “we are going to jeopardise them (removed leaders) in the quest to wrestle power from the NPP in 2024.”
Other changes and retentions
Other changes included Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembele, who is the new deputy Minority Chief Whip.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the first deputy minority chief whip, while Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is also retained as the second deputy minority chief whip.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, has stated that the party sought advice from former president John Dramani Mahama before opting to alter the leadership of the party in parliament.
Describing it as an apt decision that would inure to the long-term benefits of the NDC party, Fifi Kwetey said that contrary to claims that some key persons were not consulted over the decision, they actually did.
According to a report by myjoyonline.com, the NDC General Secretary explained that John Mahama was informed and he is aware of why there was the need to make those changes.
“This decision was taken after wide consultation. If you look at the apex leadership of the party, that consultation was done. In terms of parliamentary, the group that is widely consulted, that consultation has been done.”
“What needed to be done about this reshuffling was done and the people duly consulted. All the key leaders have been consulted. The former President, Mahama was consulted and his views were duly reflected. The new and old leaders were informed and consulted,” he said.
In a release signed by Fifi Fiavi Kwetey on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, it stated the new changes that had been made to the leadership of the Minority in parliament.
Replacing Haruna Iddrisu, who has been Minority Leader since 2017, the NDC named Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, while Mohmammed-Mubarak Muntaka, who was the Minority Chief Whip, has been replaced by Kwame Governs Agbodza.
Emmanual Armah Kofi Buah will now be the new Deputy Minority Leader, replacing James Klutse Avedzi.
Dr. Dominic Ayine, a former deputy attorney general and member of parliament for Bolgatanga East for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has criticized party officials at the national level for the changes made to their parliamentary leadership.
He maintains that the National Democratic Congress leadership failed to consult its members of Parliament prior to the changes.
The legislator takes strong exceptions to the development describing it as one that is not only deeply worrying but also undemocratic.
“I am deeply worried that the party at Adabraka can just send a letter to the Speaker and say that these are the new leaders of the party, and we have to take it hook, line and sinker. It is totally unacceptable, it is totally undemocratic and does not conform to the principles regarding the running of the affairs of our party system”, he told Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News.
The NDC in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament dated, Monday, January 23, 2023, announced a major reshuffling of its leadership in Parliament.
It named MP for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson as its new Minority Leader taking over from Tamale South MP, Haruna Iddrisu.
Ellembelle legislator, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah also replaces James Klutse Avedzi as Deputy Minority Leader while Asasawe MP, Muntaka Mubarak has been removed as Minority Chief Whip for Governs Kwame Agbodza to come to the scene.
The announcement has met mixed reactions amidst claims of lack of consultation which the party has refuted.
In Tamale South, for instance, party members massed up at the constituency party office demanding a reversal of the decision.
“This is where the problem is as far as the issue is concerned – absolute lack of consultation. It’s deeply worrying. We are a democratic party, democracy is our middle name, so we should conform to democratic principles in the decisions that we make as a party. It is true that there was no consultation, and there was no caucus meeting where we were told that a new leadership is being proposed for parliament. I find it deeply worrying”, Dr. Ayine stressed.
Despite criticism from its own members, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has defended the restructuring of its leadership in Parliament.
The party said the decision is apt and works best for collective other than individual interests.
Following the removal of Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader, many have described the news as surprising because they claim the party failed to broadly consult for a consensus to be reached accusing the leadership of taking a unilateral decision.
But General Secretary of the NDC, Fiifi Kwetey while speaking on Eyewitness News discredited such assertions insisting that those who mattered were contacted for the necessary inputs.
“This decision was taken after wide consultation. If you look at the apex leadership of the party, that consultation was done. In terms of parliamentary, the group that is widely consulted, that consultation has been done.”
“What needed to be done about this reshuffling was done and the people duly consulted. All the key leaders have been consulted. The former President, Mahama was consulted and his views duly reflected. The new and old leaders were informed and consulted”, he emphasized.
Several NDC MPs including MP for Bolgatanga East, Dominic Ayine and Tamale Central MP, Murtala Muhammed have described the leadership changes as undemocratic and deeply worrying since no consultations were held with the Minority caucus.
The former Majority Leader, Cletus Avoka has also called on the party to immediately reverse the decision, describing it as unpopular and unfortunate.
Some NDC party supporters in Tamale South have also given the party a 24-hour ultimatum to rescind the decision or face their wrath.
But Fifi Kwetey in response said the decision has been taken and will not be reversed.
He said the party will proceed with the leadership changes when Parliament resumes in February.
“The leadership of the party at the highest level has taken a decision and that is just what it is. You cannot set up a precedent where decisions by the leadership of the party are now going to be an issue of the caucus. The leadership of the party in Parliament is appointed by the leadership of the party. It is not something that is done by the caucus of the party”.
He added that the party only had to inform Haruna Iddrisu of the decision and not consult him on his removal.
Justifying the decision, the NDC chief scribe said the regional balance of swing regions and the economic issues ahead of the 2024 election, were highly factored in the decision.
“It is an integral part of the process of preparing ourselves for the next general elections. A process of reorganization has been ongoing. We are looking at having the process continue ahead of the parliamentary and presidential primaries. We believe that as part of the process, the next election is going to revolve around matters of the economy.”
“It’s going to be an economic battle and as part of the process, with consultation with leadership at the highest level, we thought that involves how best to even change the parliamentary leadership and have a leader whose domain and forte has to do with the economy to be able to lead that whole process. So this is a very important consideration.”
The NDC in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, dated Monday, January 23, stated that it had decided to replace Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu with Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
Other changes include Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle who has been brought in to replace Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Governs Agbodza has also replaced Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim and Comfort Doyoe-Ghansah have, however, maintained their positions as First and Second deputy Whips respectively.
The National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has said that the party’s 2024 election campaign message would focus heavily on the economy, which is why it has decided to reorganize its parliamentary leadership.
According to him, the know-how of the new leadership will best to propagate the message of the party.
The NDC in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin dated, Monday, January 23, 2023, stated that it had decided to replace Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu with Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
Other changes include Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle who has been brought in to replace Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Governs Agbodza has also replaced Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim and Comfort Doyoe-Ghansah were, however, maintained in their positions as First and Second deputy Whips respectively.
Speaking to Citi News, Mr. Asiedu Nketiah said the party has put its best foot forward in a bid to win the 2024 election.
“The 2024 election is going to be fought around the economy, so the debate is basically going to be about the economy. So if you are a serious party fighting to win an election. You must put your best foot forward to win the debate”.
“You can’t just tell people that the economy is in shambles when you have not been able to put your experts there to be able to communicate to Ghanaians how you will do things better. So this is the point where we need our finance and economic people around, and that is why we put them there,” Mr. Asiedu Nketiah explained.
Some supporters of the party in the Tamale South constituency on Tuesday after hearing the news besieged the party’s constituency office in protest of the changes in the party’s leadership in Parliament.
Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has also described as surprising the leadership changes by the National Democratic Congress in Parliament.
Mr Fuseini believes the unexpected changes are part of a grand strategy by the party ahead of the 2024 general elections.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in a statement signed by the General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey, on January 24, 2023, announced changes to the leadership of the minority in parliament.
The former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has been appointed as the Minority Leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
Kofi Armah Buah is also the Deputy Minority Chief Whip. Kwame Agbodza takes over as Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Chief Whip.
Some social media users are sharing mixed feelings concerning the new development of the NDC fraternity.
From around mid-Tuesday when the letter which was intended for Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin made it way into the media space, the NDC and some of its leading figures have been trending on social media.
The reactions have been diverse as some believe that the move is masterstroke from Asiedu Nketiah and his cohort whiles others say that the party has committed political suicide.
Haruna Iddrisu’s spell as leader of the National Democratic Congress caucus in Parliament came to an end on Tuesday, January 24, 2022 when the Asiedu Nketiah-led national executives announced that it had rang changes in the leadership of the minority caucus.
From January 2017, Haruna Iddrisu has served as the face of the NDC in Parliament but a palace coup as it could be described has seen him and two others being replaced in the minority leadership.
Even within the NDC, the decision which was signed by General Secretary Fifi Kwetey has shocked many as they had no idea what the executives were planning.
As confirmed by Murtala Muhammed, the members of the Minority caucus had no prior discussion with the party’s leadership about the decision to oust Haruna Iddrisu, Muntaka Mubarak and James Klutse Avedzi and replace them with Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Kwame Agbodza and Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah respectively.
The decision has spurred heated discussions and GhanaWeb highlights the confirmed and reported reasons behind the move by Asiedu Nketiah and his cohorts.
Party Restructuring
According to the National Chairman of the party Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the move is part of a process of restructuring that has been going on for the past year.
“We started more than a year ago, we started at the branch level. We have since done elections in about 40,000 branches and then from there we proceeded to the constituency level. We are done largely with all the constituencies, we have done regional elections and we just completed our national election and the next is to look at our leadership in Parliament. That is what we have just done,” he said.
Election 2024
Asiedu Nketiah also explained that the alterations are necessary to keep the party in the driving seat for the 2024 elections.
“We know for instance that going into election 2024, the economy is going to be the major battle ground and so many of the debates will focus on the economy. So you better put your best man in economy forward that is what we have done.
“We also looked at energy. You know the petroleum and electricity challenges, so we needed to settle on Kofi Armah Buah, our former minister to be the Deputy Minority Leader.
“The other area is infrastructure, Kwame Agbodza being our man in infrastructure should play a key role that generally is what informed the changes,” he added.
Regional Balance
Asiedu Nketiah also said that the party wanted to ensure that there is regional representations in its leadership in Parliament .
He stressed that, “the Change has nothing to do with the performance of the leaders at all. What it has a lot to do about is that the environment is changing, so if you are a football coach and the team you are facing and the game style they are adopting is not in keeping with the players you have put out there, you will do yourself a lot of good.”
Reported Reasons
Whereas Asiedu Nketiah has made mention of the above reasons, GhanaWeb has also discovered some factors that might have influenced the decision to oust Haruna Iddrisu and his cohorts from the leadership.
Party elements, backbenchers unhappy with Haruna and Muntaka in hung parliament
Within the minority caucus and the party, there is a feeling that the impact of the hung parliament is not being felt and that is largely due to the decisions and indecisions of Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka Mubarak.
GhanaWeb sources indicate that Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka Mohammed were the main targets of this move and that the others were just collateral damages.
An NDC source told GhanaWeb that majority of the backbenchers in Parliament have not been satisfied with the how the ousted leadership have handled issues in Parliament.
There is a feeling within the backbenchers that Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka Mubarak have in certain situations like the vetting and passing of the ministers particularly Ken Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister, appeared to have adopted a stance contrary to the viewpoints of the backbenchers and the leadership of the party have been made aware of the growing disaffection.
Muntaka’s position had become untenable
According to reports, from the moment Muntaka sparred with Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament and followed up with that explosive interview on Joy News, his position became untenable.
Reports say that the party’s hierarchy was furious with the conduct of Muntaka Mubarak and coupled with his struggles back in his Asawase constituency, the party thought it wise to relieve him of his role to make him focus on his dealing with those issues.
Asiedu Nketiah settling scores with Haruna Iddrisu
This narrative is being pushed largely by Paul Adom-Otchere and Titus Glover. According to them, Asiedu Nketiah is using his office to victimize Haruna Iddrisu who did not back in the national chairmanship elections.
It will be recalled that Haruna Iddrisu issued a rejoinder to a statement by Ahmed Ibrahim, the Deputy Minority Chief Whip that the caucus had settled on Asiedu Nketiah as their choice for the chairmanship position.
There is also a feeling within the NDC that Haruna Iddrisu was becoming too powerful and had to clipped before he became a threat to the interest of the those in decision-making positions.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has earned congratulations from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Central Region leadership for his selection as the leader of the minority caucus in parliament.
In a press statement dated January 24, 2023, the leadership said that Ato Forson’s elevation offers ample testament to his hard work and dedication to parliament and Ghana.
“The leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Central Region wishes on behalf of the entire membership of the party in the region, to extend a very hearty congratulations to the new Minority Leader in Parliament, Hon Dr Cassiel Ato Forson on his elevation.
“Dr Ato Forson’s elevation offers ample testament to his hard work and dedication to the cause of the NDC in Parliament and in Ghana in general over the years,” part of the statement read.
The NDC in a statement signed by the General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey announced that it has made changes to the leadership of the minority in parliament.
The former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has been appointed as the Minority Leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
Kofi Armah Buah is also the Deputy Minority Chief Whip. Kwame Agbodza takes over as Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Chief Whip. Meanwhile, The Tamale South Constituency Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abdul Rauf, has said that he and his constituents will not accept the decision of the national executive of the party to replace Haruna Iddrisu as the minority leader.
According to him, if the party fails to rescind its decision, he will lead the party’s faithful in his constituency to vote against it in the 2024 general elections.
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has released new images of what he says is evidence that the JNS Talent Centre received an amount of GHC3.5million from the National Cathedral Secretariat to supply it with paper towels.
According to the MP, who has been on a recent campaign to uncover some alleged corrupt and dubious actions of the Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, this new detail makes matters worse for the preacher.
Earlier, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had provided documents to the effect that JNS Talent Centre, owned by a certain Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, is only an alias of Rev. Kusi Boateng.
In this latest document, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP said that the details show that indeed, the amount of GHc3.5million that was received by JNS Talent was not a loan but money for the supply of some items.
This, he added, is contrary to earlier claims made to the effect that the amount given to the company was a loan from the National Cathedral Secretariat.
“Evidence secured of how the ubiquitous JNS Talent Centre Limited, secretly & dubiously owned by Kwabena Adu Gyamfi AKA Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, received a staggering GHS3.5million of Ghana’s COVID-19 cash to supply paper towels. This further complicates his cathedral loan claims,” the MP wrote on Twitter.
It will be recalled that the Executive Director of the Cathedral project, Dr. Paul Opoku Mensah, earlier explained that an amount of GHc2.6 million was paid to JNS Talent Centre Limited because it was an interest-free loan the company helped it secure to meet some contractual obligations in 2021.
“We had signed a contract; we were supposed to pay them (contractors) mobilization and that was part of the seed money from the state, and the state had actually transferred the money to the Minister of Finance, but the Controller (and Accountant General) had asked for some time to pay it.
“We had already kind of postponed this payment to the contractors, so a board member said he could help us top-up because he had some money, and we could just top it off to pay the contractors,” he stated.
See the post by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa below:
Evidence secured of how the ubiquitous JNS Talent Centre Limited secretly & dubiously owned by Kwabena Adu Gyamfi AKA Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng received a staggering GHS3.5million of Ghana’s COVID-19 cash to supply paper towels.
A former minister of education, says it might have been a mistake for him to run against former president John Evan Atta Mills in the 2006 National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer campaign.
According to him, he took the decision to contest after the late president, who was his good friend, convinced him he had his support.
He added that he, however, later discovered that the late Professor Mills had also said the same to a number of people, which was then used against him.
“It may have been a mistake. I did that partly because my own very good friend, Prof. Mills, had been telling me, for about five years, Ekwow you are the only one I support, and unfortunately, he also said that to a number of people who then used that against me with him.
“And so even though the jury is out until the day of my departure from earth, I think that decision may have been an error just because I didn’t need to put myself in a conflicting situation with a very good friend. But fortunately, President Mills did not find that offensive at all…” Asaase radio quoted Ekwow Spio-Garbrah.
In December 2006, the late Prof. John Evans Atta Mills polled 1362 votes, representing 81.4% of the total votes cast, to win the National Democratic Congress flagbearership slot for the 2008 election. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah polled 146 votes representing 8.7%, Mahama Iddrisu had 137 votes representing 8.2% and Eddie Annan had 28 votes representing 1.7%.
When asked if he would contest in the upcoming NDC flagbearship race, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah said the NDC has not really invited any contestants to show their faces, even though some people believe he (Ekwow Spio-Garbrah) will be a good president.
“Some people believe I can be a good president…The jury is out. I think now there are a lot of wonderful people already putting themselves up, but the party [NDC] has not really invited any contestants to show their faces.”
“We’ve seen some pictures of others who are likely to contest, so we will watch out for them…my view is that whereas in the past I have listened to the advice of a small group of people to put myself forward, I would rather ask for more rigorous analysis to see because there is no point in running [for flagbearer] if you know you are not going to win. And if there is a better person who can do the job better than you, why not?”
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has set May 13, 2023, as a date to elect their flagbearer.
This was announced by the NDC General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, at a press conference at the NDC headquarters in Accra on Wednesday, January 18, 2023.
So far, former President John Dramani Mahama, Kojo Bonsu, and Dr. Kwabena Duffuor are tipped to contest the elections.
The general secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, has paid a visit to his home district to convey his gratitude to the local chiefs and populace.
The NDC party executive was the immediate past Member of Parliament for the Ketu South constituency until 2020 when he stepped down, making way for the current legislator, Abla Dzifa Gomashie.
In photos and videos shared online, Fifi Kwetey shared his excitement at returning home, adding that he felt really at home.
“Over the weekend, I was in Ketu South. It was such a wonderful experience to return to the constituency where I grew up and once served as an MP. I sincerely appreciate the warm reception I received from the religious leaders, traditional authorities, party executives and the good people of the area,” he wrote on Facebook.
The visit by the NDC General Secretary was done in the company of the sitting MP, Dzifa Gomashie; the Volta Regional Chairman, Mawutor Agbavitor; and other executives of the party.
The team met with constituency executives and engaged in a number of activities geared towards rekindling the spirit of patriotism in their members.
The team also visited some churches in the community.
“I thanked the leadership of both churches for their support to the NDC and Ghana and appealed to them not to relent in their efforts to make the nation better, great and strong,” he added.
Fifi Fiavi Kwetey and the team also paid homage to Togbui Fiti Adzonugagag Amenya V, the Paramount Chief of the Aflao Traditional Council; as well as Togbui Addo of the Klikor Traditional Area, and Tigbui Adamah of Some Traditional Area.
“My tour ended with a visit to my hometown, Nogokpo, where I paid homage to the chief, Togbui Sabah,” he added.
Fifi Kwetey was elected as General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at their recent National Delegates Congress, where he beat competition from the likes of Elvis Afriyie Ankrah and Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor.
The congress also saw the election of Johnson Asiedu Nketiah as the National Chairman of the party, beating the incumbent, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo.
A new survey conducted by Global Info Analytics, a polling company in Ghana, has revealed that 71% of citizens are of the view that, Ghana is headed in the wrong direction.
The poll also revealed that 60% of New Patriotic Party (NPP) affiliates disapprove of the path the country is headed while 81% of affiliates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) also say the party is on the wrong path.
On the question of whether the NPP can “break the eight”, 24% of voters believe the party can “break-the-eight” whilst 59% said they can’t and 17% had no opinion.
The poll shows the president’s job approval rating has made a significant recovery from 26% in October, leaping to 32% in January 2023, whilst his disapproval declined sharply from 69% in October to 59% in January 2023.
The vice president enjoys 32% approval and 58% disapproval. In the case of Alan Kyerematen, 35% of voters approved of his performance as Trade and Industry minister whilst 45% disapprove of his performance.
The poll used a sample size of 5,844. The sample size was allocated to all the regions based on the total number of voters in each of the regions as per the Electoral Commission’s 2020 register.
A random selection of 30% of constituencies from each region was then selected and allocated the regional quota based on the total voters in each of those constituencies.
Respondents were selected randomly in the streets, homes and workplaces.
In the race to lead the NPP for the 2024 elections, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and Mr Kyerematen are tied with no clear favourite.
The poll conducted between 31st December 2022 and 15th January 2023, shows the race to lead the NPP is a dead heat among NPP voters as Dr Bawumia has lost the slender lead he enjoyed in October 2022 over Mr Kyeremanten.
The poll now shows Dr Bawumia and Mr Kyerematen are level at 40% apiece among NPP voters.
However, among general voters, Mr Kyerematen’s lead over Dr Bawumia has been cut from 41% to 32% compared to 44% to 31% in October 2022. New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, is in third place with 14% of the votes.
The NPP is yet to set a date for its presidential primaries to elect a flagbearer for the 2024 elections.
Mr Kyerematen who resigned from his post is likely to face off with the former Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto and former Railways Minister Joe Ghartey who has also declared his intention to contest for the slot.
A Tamale High Court has affirmed the election of Abdulai Jacob Iddriss as Member of Parliament for Savelugu Constituency.
Mr Jacob Iddriss’s election in 2020 was challenged by the Parliamentary Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Muhamed Abdul-Samed Gunu.
According to the petition, the election of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP was invalid owing to widespread malpractices and irregularities which he maintains affected the outcome of the impugned elections.
The NDC candidate polled 19,577 votes to beat the petitioner, who polled 19,478.
Giving his ruling on Friday, January 20, Justice Daniel Obeng awarded GH¢40,000 in damages to the NDC.
The victory was affirmed for Abdulai Jacob Iddriss to continue to serve as MP for Savelugu.
Meanwhile, the court also affirmed the victory of NPP’s John Bennam Jabaah for Zabzugu Constituency.
His election was also challenged at the same court.
Former president John Dramani Mahama has described the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party as the better manager of Ghana’s economy, as the state is in near collapse under the Akufo-Addo-led administration.
According to him, poverty has worsened due to extreme inflation and price volatility.
These deteriorations were discovered during his visits to the Savanna, Northern, and Upper West Regions.
In a Facebook post, he said the country is near collapse.
“I am back to Accra from a trip to the Savanna, Northern, and Upper West Regions – and poverty has worsened due to extreme inflation & price volatility. The economy is in a near state of collapse; clearly, the NDC has been a better manager of the economy!” he said
Samuel Koku Anyidoho, the former deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has shared his views on the story of the eight students of Chiana Senior High School who insulted President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a viral video.
Koku Anyidoho in a social media post lambasted the girls, stating that they were lucky to find themselves in a jurisdiction where laws on such issues are not in the extreme.
Koku Anyidoho also noted that the girls should thank their stars for having a president who is kind enough to intervene in the decision by the Ghana Education Service to dismiss them.
He expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo over his decision to ask the GES to reverse its earlier decision on the girls.
“Honestly, these girls are damn lucky. In other jurisdictions, they would have been flogged publicly. What nonsense!! You joke with insulting the President & making it public? Ah! Ah! Ah! I guess we must thank President Akufo-Addo for having a kind heart to forgive them. Thanks Prez,” Anyidoho tweeted.
President Akufo-Addo intervened in the matter after his ‘attention was drawn’ to the move by the Ghana Education Service to sack the students.
The move by the president has been welcomed by the Education Ministry which has instructed the GES to review its decision.
The GES has consequently announced that it will work with the authorities of the school to find an alternative punishment for the implicated students.
Honestly, these girls are damn lucky. In other jurisdictions, they wld have been flogged publicly. What nonsense!! U joke with insulting the President & making it public? Ah! Ah! Ah! I guess we must thank President Akufo-Addo for having a kind heart to forgive them.Thanks Prez???? pic.twitter.com/OrRsm7lc3c— Samuel Koku Anyidoho???????? (@KokuAnyidoho) January 14, 2023
A national organiser aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the just-ended national delegate congress, Henry Osei Akoto, has disagreed with a stalwart of the party on John Dramani Mahama’s achievements in the Volta Region.
In an earlier interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Dr. Obed Asamoah said that President Mahama didn’t do anything for the region, which is considered the powerhouse of the NDC.
This, he added, was responsible for the low numbers that the NDC received in the 2020 election, as compared to earlier feats by the founder of the NDC, Jerry John Rawlings, and President John Evans Atta Mills.
Dr. Obed Asamoah also blamed the former president for the NDC’s inability to retain the Hohoe seat, which, for the first time, was won by the New Patriotic Party’s John Peter Amewu.
But the 2020 parliamentary candidate for the Oforikrom Constituency, Henry Osei Akoto, has disagreed with the former Attorney General.
In a post shared on social media rebutting the claims of the law luminary and politician, Henry Osei Akoto stated that John Mahama undertook hundreds of projects in the party’s nationally acclaimed “world bank.”
“Respectfully, in response to my senior comrade, Dr. Obed Asamoah, about Mahama not doing anything for Volta, I beg to differ.
“John Dramani Mahama as president did over 30 projects under health, over 129 under education, about 60 projects in the transport sector, 16 projects in the ICT sector, and many other countless projects in different sectors.
“Any doubting Thomas can provide evidence to the contrary!” he wrote.
He further provided a list of the projects cutting across the transport, health, education, ICT, and many other sectors of the economy.
Fifi Kwetey, General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said that the Volta Region as the portion of Ghana where heros of the country come from.
“Volta is the region, where saviours of the nation come from as far as this country is concerned but we need to know who we are, and somehow, we know, who we are, and we need to start appreciating who we are.
“Volta must appreciate NDC and back it no matter what. It should become like a religion. We need to let our people appreciate that this is what we are.
“And I believe if we knew who we were, the situation where the love for this party would start dwindling in this Region should not happen,” he said during a retreat for regional executives at Dzodze in the Ketu North Municipality.
He is concerned that unlike the Ashanti and Eastern regions which are strongholds of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), the NDC’s fortunes in the Volta Region are dwindling.
“Because somehow, they (Ashanti and Eastern) appreciate it, and believe in their party as a religion. Your Religion may not be the best religion, yet that is your religion. It is your responsibility to make sure you fix it, and you change it.”
Kwetey also tasked the rank and file to rededicate themselves to supporting the party and do all it takes to ensure that they sell the NDC gospel as the party gears up to wrestle power after the 2024 elections.
At the opening of the four-day event which was on the theme “Empowering Our Base for Victory in 2024,” Dan Abodakpi, Chairman of the National Council of Elders tasked party executives to unite with MPs and other stakeholders particularly the grassroots to be able to remain formidable.
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader in Parliament, has emphasized the governing New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) ‘we have the men’ slogan with respect to the upcoming 2024 flagbearerhip race.
According to him, most of the aspirants who are rumoured to be interested or have openly declared their intentions have what it takes to represent the party and to ‘break the 8,’ i.e. win the 2024 elections.
In an interview with pro-NPP network Asaase Radio (January 12, 2023), the Member of Parliament for Suame said even though a number of aspirants are in the race, one name stood above all but that he wa refraining from mentioning it yet.
“I can say that many of them that I have assessed have the potential of helping us break the 8 [but] there may be a primo among them.
“In terms of competence and qualification, I can vouch for many of them who have come up, like [Vice-President Mahamudu] Bawumia, Alan Kyerematen, Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Boakye Agyarko … Kennedy Agyapong, Kwabena Agyepong, Kofi Konadu Apraku …” he said.
The comments by the MP, who also doubles as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, comes on the back of two cabinet-level resignations in respect of Alan Kyeremayen and Owusu Afriyie Akoto, outgoing Ministers of Trade and Industry and Agriculture respectively.
The former resigned last week and has since announced his ambition to contest the NPP flagbearership. The latter’s resignation took place earlier this week and was accepted on Thursday, January 12.
Both the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the NPP are expected to elect their flagbearers ahead of keenly-awaited 2024 elections.
Former president John Dramani Mahama is seen as a frontrunner to lead the NDC for a third successive bid as candidate.
In the case of the NPP, aside from Alan, Bawumia and the, former Minister of Agric, Assin Central Member of Parliament Kennedy Agyapong and former General Secretary Kwabena Agyepong are among some of the candidates expected to contest for the slot.
According to him, the NPP will win the elections with the current Vice President, Dr Mahama Bawumia, as its candidate for the elections.
In a Peace FM interview on Wednesday, December 12, 2023, Allotey Jacobs noted that the vice president has what it takes to transform Ghana and urged the party’s delegates to choose him in the upcoming presidential primaries.
“… there is going to be a carryover this time around. I want to see Vice President Bawumia as the next president, I will not hide his fact. There is a magic in him that he will use to help Ghana – to move Ghana forward,” he said in Twi.
He added that when Dr Bawumia becomes president, he will remove many of the current appointees of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi says the country’s debt crisis is a result of government’s refusal to heed sound advice.
According to him, government officials were throwing parties and drinking Hennessey when the NDC was sounding cautions about Ghana’s increasing debt stock.
This he said, is the reason for the country’s current economic woes which have become a burden for both the state and citizens at large.
The NDC spokesperson made these remarks while bemoaning Ghana’s current debt stock and the attendant challenges on Adom TV’s Badwam programme on Monday.
Since Ghana gained independence in 1957 till date, the current debt figures by the NPP transcends all debts accrued within this period. Meanwhile, they can’t also account for any rewarding projects they’ve used the monies for.
When we were advising them, they did not listen. Rather, they were feasting on kenkey, cooking waakye and throwing kenkey and waakye parties with Hennessey at the Finance Ministry, amidst innuendoes at us
This is the end results, Sammy Gyamfi said.
He added that, the excessive borrowing by the government was because of its ‘selfishness’ and ‘greed’.
Venting his spleen, Mr Sammy Gyamfi further dismissed the defence by government communicators that the current economic crisis is due to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The sentiments by the NDC Communications Officer adds to the barrage of criticisms from the party as well as other citizens, given the current state of the economy.
At the moment, the country’s economic situation is at an all-time low, amidst a deprecation of the local currency against other major trading currencies including the US dollar.
Inflation is also at an all-time high, with the country’s end of year inflation for 2022 hitting at 54.1%
An infograph of Ghana’s inflation rate for December 2022, gleaned from the Ghana Statistical Service
Meanwhile, Ghana has reiterated its assurance on working to make the economy better.
Speaking at thanksgiving service at the Jubilee House earlier this week, President Akufo-Addo noted that he is positive about brighter days for Ghana, despite the present state of affairs.
General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said the Volta Region must cement its place as an unmovable bastion for the Party.
Fifi Kwetey said the Region’s hold as the fortress for the NDC had weakened in recent times as indigenes had become increasingly discouraged from identifying with the Party, while strongholds of the main political opponent, the NPP, remained fruitful.
Mr Kwetey was opening a regional retreat for Regional Executives of the Party at Dzodze in the Ketu North Municipality of the Volta Region, which is on the theme “Empowering Our Base for Victory in 2024.”
He said the Volta Region remained the birthplace and base of the NDC and should be maintained as the Party lost its monopoly over the northern parts of the country.
“Volta is the Region, where saviours of the nation come from as far as this country is concerned but we need to know who we are, and somehow, we know, who we are, and we need to start appreciating who we are.
“Volta must appreciate NDC and back it no matter what. It should become like a religion. We need to let our people appreciate that this is what we are. And I believe if we knew who we were, the situation where the love for this party would start dwindling in this Region should not happen.
He said a careful watch of what happens in Ashanti Region, and the Eastern Region, indicates that no matter how poor the NPP may perform, they understand that their Party is the NPP, and nothing changes that.
“Because somehow, they appreciate it, and believe in their party as a religion. Your Religion may not be the best religion, yet that is your religion. It is your responsibility to make sure you fix it, and you change it.”
The General Secretary went on to say, that “we need to let our people appreciate that this is who we are. There is nothing shameful about it.
You talk to some of our young people from Volta and they think it is something of pride to say ‘yea, we are not like our forefathers and uncles, and we believe that we should not continue with that.”
He alleged that NPP had managed to discourage natives of the region from adopting the Party and was robbing the region of its political lineage.
It is our job to ensure that our children remain loyal to this foundation to make it better. The NDC should be much more than a Party for us. It should be a religion.”
Mr Kwetey called for “better coordination” to be able work towards the Party’s needs, adding that Voltarians remained the most faithful to the Party, and sustained its popularity across the Country.
He said the Region must therefore become more creative to be able to lead the Party, and that the Party should work closer with the diaspora, and ensure such communities duly benefited from power.
The four-day retreat would help strategise towards the coming general elections which the Party hopes to win, and present are some National and Regional Executives and some Members of Parliament from the Region.
Mr Dan Agbodakpi, Chairman of the National Council of Elders who chaired the opening said Party executives must work in unity with MPs and other stakeholders particularly the grassroots to be able to remain formidable.
Legal Practitioner, Lawyer Lamtiig Apanga, has refuted the perception by some individuals that there’s a need for one’s family members to be in the profession to have higher chances of being admitted to the law school.
According to him, some people are holding back on their ambitions to pursue law because of this perception.
He explained that one’s mother, and father don’t determine one’s admission to the Ghana Law School, rather, it depends on the individual’s intellect, confidence and ability to express themselves excellently.
“…Those questions they ask if anybody in your family is a lawyer are not the reasons people are taken or not taken.
“The perception that you need to be an extraordinary person to read the law you need to have some extraordinary qualities to read the law or some family relations has kept some people away, he said in an interview with dreamz FM in Bolga in the Upper East Region.
Lawyer Lamtiig Apanga, who has declared his intentions to contest the parliamentary primaries on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Nabdam Constituency in the Upper East Region said he has an agenda to churn out 10 lawyers in 10 years.
He believes this vision can be achieved because he is currently mentoring three of them who are currently in law school.
Now, the entire nation’s focus is on the two parties’ primaries for president and parliament, which will determine their parliamentary nominees and, most crucially, their presidential nominee for the 2024 election.
In the NPP, for instance, names such as the Vice President of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen; former Railways Minister, Joe Ghartey; the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto and the former General Secretary of the NPP, Kwabena Agyapong, have come up as potential flagbearers.
The NDC also has the likes of former President John Dramani Mahama; former Minister for Finance, Kwabena Duffuor and the former Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Kojo Bonsu, expressing their interest to contest for the flagbearership position of the party.
But one important factor that is mostly ignored in the elections of presidential candidates is who their ‘chief advisors’, the wives who have journeyed with them throughout their political careers and have become their true confidants, are.
GhanaWeb in this article takes a look at some of the wives of likely flagbearer candidates for the presidential primaries of the NDC and the NPP out of which Ghana’s first lady will emerge.
Lordina Mahama:
Nearly like the first possible First Lady on this list, Lordina Mahama, who is married to Ghana’s former president, John Dramani Mahama, who is largely regarded as the presumptive flagbearer of the NDC.
She, like her husband, quickly rose to the highest office of the land after the sudden death of the late John Evans Atta Mills in 2012.
Lordina Mahama left office on January 7, 2017, but with her husband looking to return as president, she could just return to the high office she once occupied.
She attended the Anglican elementary school and then proceeded to the Ghana Secondary School in Tamale, where she met her husband John Dramani Mahama.
She has a degree in Hospitality Management and a Masters in Governance and Leadership from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.
She also acquired a Master of Laws (LLM) in Business Law/International Business Law from De Montfort University in the United Kingdom in 2019.
Samira Bawumia
Samira Bawumia, the wife of Ghana’s current Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, is one to look out for as a potential first lady with her husband being touted as one of the leading candidates for NPP’s flagbearership position.
Samira started her early education at the Answarudeen Islamic School at Fadama in Accra, before continuing to the Akosombo International School (AIS) and then to Mfantsiman Girls’ Secondary School at Saltpond in the Central Region.
At the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), she studied BA in Social Science in Law and Technology. At the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Relations (GIMPA), she was adjudged the Best Student in Master of Business Administration (MBA).
Mrs. Bawumia is the Ambassador for the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and joins former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Academy Award-winning actor Julia Roberts, and Grammy-nominated musician Rocky Dawuni to work with the Alliance and its partners to raise awareness of household air pollution and encourage broader adoption of clean cooking solutions in developing countries in a bid to create cleaner environments and eradicate deaths caused by pollution from the burning of solid fuels for cooking.
Patricia Christabel Kyerematen
In the NPP, one of the names that are widely rumoured to vie for the position of flagbearer of the party, and eventually run as president, is Alan Kyerematen, who is the current Minister of Trade and Industry.
He is married to Patricia Christabel Kyerematen, whom very little is known about.
She was born Patricia Christabel Kingsley-Nyinah, as the daughter of Justice Joseph Kingsley-Nyinah, Ghana’s Electoral Commissioner during the 1979 presidential election.
They have two children – Alexander and Victor.
Nana Akosua Fosuah
A man who has, in the last few months, been touring the country and putting his face out there for the NDC is a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor.
It would seem that just as nearly private as Dr. Duffuor is, his wife appears the same.
If her husband becomes president, Nana Akosua Fosuah would be Ghana’s First Lady from January 7, 2025.
Together with her husband, they have five children.
Efua Ghartey:
Joe Ghartey, a former attorney general and minister of justice and railways development minister is one of the leading members of the NPP who has stated his intention of running for the party’s presidential primaries.
Joe Ghartey is married to Efua Ghartey with whom he has 5 children.
Mrs Ghartey, like her husband, is a lawyer by profession and the two are the co-founder of the law firm, Ghartey & Ghartey.
She is the Chairperson of the Bible Society of Ghana and the Chairperson of the International Board of the United Bible Societies (UBS), which operates in more than 200 countries.
She is additionally the president of the Greater Accra Ghana Bar Association as well as a member of the Constitutional and Legal Committee of the New Patriotic Party.
Dr. Lawrencia Agyapong
The former General Secretary of the NPP, Kwabena Agyapong, who all other factors being equal will contest in the NPP presidential primaries, is married to Dr Lawrencia Agyapong.
The two have three fully grown children.
Dr Lawrencia Agyapong is an academic and is currently the Head of the Communications Department, as well as the research coordinator at the School of Graduate Studies at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ).
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto’s wife:
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, a potential flagbearer for the ruling NPP, is married with seven children but little is now about her children.
Kojo Bonsu’s wife:
Very little is known about the wife of former Kumasi Mayor, Kojo Bonsu, who will be contesting in the NDC presidential primaries.
In 2016 he admitted that his marriage of 30 years was on the rocks and stated that he had a girlfriend.
A contender in the just-ended National Youth Organizer election of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Brogya Genfi, has warned that issues that characterized the party’s National Youth Organizer election if not immediately resolved could cause division in the party.
Brogya Genfi who narrowly lost to incumbent George Opare Addo is in court to restrain the latter from holding himself as the National Youth Organizer of the party.
Speaking to Starr News, Brogya Genfi said the issues must be resolved now to ensure the needed unity and cohesion in the party to enable the NDC to wrestle power from the governing New Patriotic party come the 2024 election.
“… for example, the Eastern Regional Youth election has been annulled, why, because the Regional Youth Organizer is my supporter. Because he’s from the home region of the National Youth Organizer and he’s not supporting him, he’s gone to court to annul the election. That can also breed division and so that must be looked at. So it’s not just about the action I have taken.”
He added: “I would love to have an opportunity with the former President(Mahama) for an extensive discussion on the way forward for the party.”
Meanwhile, the NDC at its National Delegates Congress over the weekend defied a court injunction secured by Brogya Genfi and swore in George Opare Addo as its Youth Organiser.
The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, and Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, his predecessor, have appeared in public for the first time since the NDC Congress in Accra that just ended.
The two met at the wedding ceremony of Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the NDC, on Wednesday, December 21, 2022.
Ahead of the election that saw Asiedu Nketiah, the former General Secretary of the party emerge winner in the National Chairman-ship race, the two candidates were actively engaged in a lot of media banters.
The last time they were seen together was on the morning of Sunday, December 18, 2022, just moments before the official results for the polls were declared by the officials of the Electoral Commission of Ghana.
After the contest, Asiedu Nketiah won convincingly with a 5,569 to the 2,892 votes garnered by Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo.
Sammy Gyamfi’s wedding is a private one that was attended by dignitaries like the former president, John Dramani Mahama.
The government’s 2023 plans to demolish the Accra International Conference Centre(AICC) and build a new one for €116 million were thwarted by members of parliament from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), both in the Foreign Affairs Committee and in plenary last night, Tuesday, December 20, 2022. (GHC 1.3 billion).
The MPs also successfully blocked proposals to open new Ghanaian embassies in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mexico.
MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who disclosed this in a Facebook post, said the government cannot be defaulting on its loan obligations and imposing “crude haircuts, particularly on pensions for the vulnerable aged and still be pursuing fanciful projects which can be deferred to better economic times in the future.”
This comes after the trade, industry, and tourism committee of parliament also rejected the GHC 80 million budgetary allocation for the construction of the National Cathedral.
The minority side of the committee voted against the budget in a 11:10 majority decision.
A member of the committee, Mr. Yussif Sulemana, told journalists on Tuesday, December 20, 2022: “I can tell you on authority that at the end of the day, we had to vote, and after the vote, the minority carried the day. We have voted against it, and we are saying that this is not the time for us to be spending that huge sum of money on building a cathedral.”
The Bole-Bamboi MP said: “Apart from that, we were told at the committee level that they had already spent GHC 339 million, and when we asked them to give us evidence of how the money was spent, it was a challenge.”
Again, he noted, “We were told that they have moved the cathedral from wherever it was to the ministry of tourism. And the question I put to them was that the organisation that is handling this cathedral, the secretariat, is it under the ministry of tourism?”
“If it’s not under the ministry of tourism, then it means that you want to use the ministry as a conduit to send the money wherever you want to send it, and we, the minority, will not accept it.”
Additionally, the MPs were able to stop plans to establish additional Ghanaian embassies in Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Mexico.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a member of parliament for North Tongu, revealed this in a Facebook post. He claimed that the government could not be enforcing “crude haircuts, particularly on pensions for the vulnerable elderly and still be pursuing fanciful projects which can be deferred to better economic times in the future.”
This comes after the trade, industry and tourism committee of parliament also rejected the GHC80 million budget allocated to the construction of the National Cathedral.
The minority side of the committee voted against the budget in an 11:10 majority decision.
A member of the committee, Mr Yussif Sulemana told journalists on Tuesday, 20 December 2022: “I can tell you on authority that at the end of the day, we had to vote and after the vote, the minority carried the day. We have voted against it and we are saying that this is not the time for us to be spending that huge sum of money on building a cathedral”.
The Bole-Bamboi MP said: “Apart from that, we were told at the committee[-level] that they had already spent GHS339 million and when we asked them to give us evidence of how the money was spent, it was a challenge”.
Again, he noted, “we were told that they have moved the cathedral from wherever it was to the ministry of tourism. And the question I put to them was that that organisation that is handling this cathedral, the secretariat, is it under the ministry of tourism?”
“If it’s not under the ministry of tourism, then it means that you want to use the ministry as a conduit to send the money wherever you want to send it and we, the minority, will not accept it”.
This comes after the trade, industry and tourism committee of parliament also rejected the GHC80 million budget allocated to the construction of the National Cathedral.
The minority side of the committee voted against the budget in an 11:10 majority decision.
A member of the committee, Mr Yussif Sulemana told journalists on Tuesday, 20 December 2022: “I can tell you on authority that at the end of the day, we had to vote and after the vote, the minority carried the day. We have voted against it and we are saying that this is not the time for us to be spending that huge sum of money on building a cathedral”.
The Bole-Bamboi MP said: “Apart from that, we were told at the committee[-level] that they had already spent GHS339 million and when we asked them to give us evidence of how the money was spent, it was a challenge”.
Again, he noted, “we were told that they have moved the cathedral from wherever it was to the ministry of tourism. And the question I put to them was that that organisation that is handling this cathedral, the secretariat, is it under the ministry of tourism?”
“If it’s not under the ministry of tourism, then it means that you want to use the ministry as a conduit to send the money wherever you want to send it and we, the minority, will not accept it”.
The Chairman of the National Media Commission of Ghana (NMC), Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo, has said that the newly elected National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, can no longer serve on the Parliamentary Service Board.
Speaking at an event in Accra, Boadu Ayeboafo, explained that Asiedu Nketiah can no longer serve on the Parliamentary Service Board because the Constitution of Ghana indicates that members of such boards should be apolitical.
He also suggested that Asiedu Nketiah, as the leader of the NDC, may not give objective advice to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin.
“There is this concern that once Mr. Asiedu Nketiah is now the chairman of the NDC, he should not be part of the advisory group to the speaker and serve on the board.
“Because I know that Mr. Peter Ala Adjetey was a member of the National Media Commission, and because of him, the Constitution was amended to say that anybody who holds political office should not be a member of the National Media Commission.
“So, if somebody holding political office cannot be a member of the commission. How can somebody leading a political party advise the speaker, who is supposed to demonstrate objectivity and neutrality in the highest sense?” He questioned.
Johnson Asiedu Nketiah won the party’s chairmanship race at the National Delegates Congress held at the Accra Sports Stadium last Saturday.
Asiedu Nketia received 5574 votes, with Ofosu Ampofo receiving 2892 votes, Samuel Yaw Adusei receiving 52 votes, and Nii Armah Ashietey receiving 38 votes.
Torgbuiga Adzonugaga Amenya Fiti V, the Paramount Chief of Aflao, has pleaded with politicians to emphasize the love of country and a strong sense of nationalism in their campaign statements.
That, according to him, was essential for the orderly and inclusive growth of the nation.
Torgbuiga Fiti made these remarks when the aspiring flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kojo Bonsu, paid a courtesy call on him at his palace in Aflao last Wednesday to inform him of his presidential ambition.
He commended Mr Bonsu for his bold decision to run for the presidency, saying he was known for his strong sense of patriotism, dignity and ability to consolidate peace and unity among the people, and respect for traditional authorities.
For his part, Mr Bonsu thanked Torgbuiga Fiti for the cordial reception accorded him at the palace, saying it was gratifying and definitely reassuring of many good tidings for his ambition to lead the NDC to victory in the 2024 general election.
The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu has couched an identity for himself with the symbolic smocks he wears at virtually every major party event.
Among the numerous smocks he wears, there’s one particular smock he is noted for donning for some of these events.
The smock is a black one with party colours, which also contains emblems.
Speaking in an interview, he revealed that he often appears in this symbolic smock whenever there is a battle.
He explained at the National Delegates Congress, he chose to wear his symbolic smock to indicate his readiness for the battle – elections.
“I wear this type of costume occasionally, when the occasion demands. It is our traditional war battle dress, so when you are going into battle you wear it and you know I’m referred to as the General of NDC for a good reason because people think that whenever there is crisis, I am the one who is called upon to take the lead. Traditionally this is the regalia of a war general and so on occasion like this is the dress…,” he said.
Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has been elected National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress.
At the National Congress held on Saturday, December 17, 2022, Asiedu Nketiah secured 65.17% of the total vote cast to win the election.
His closest competitor, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo polled just 33.81% of the total vote cast.
According to the Electoral Commission, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah garnered 5,569 while the incumbent Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo managed 2,892 votes.
Ghana’s largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), just came out of a successful National Executive Congress at the Accra Sports Stadium where Asiedu Nketiah emerged winner in the National Chairmanship race.
Asiedu Nketiah’s win saw the end of the reign of Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo as the National Chairman, and also saw the election of some women into the executive team of the NDC.
Ahead of the race, GhanaWeb looked at the 16 females who were contesting for some of the positions in the party.
In this updated article, we take a look at the successful women candidates and which positions they won.
Here they are:
Dr. Sherry Ayittey
Dr. Sherry is a veteran female member of the NDC and has served in many ministerial portfolios. She has served as Minister of Health, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, and, Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.
She was a member of the 31st December Women’s Movement, a non-governmental organization affiliated to the NDC, whose president is Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, wife of Jerry Rawlings; former President of Ghana.
She has been elected as the Second Vice Chairperson of the NDC.
Barbara Serwaa Asamoah
Barbara Serwaa Asamoah is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. She is the deputy general secretary of the National Democratic Congress.
She was also the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources from 2013 to 2017.
Barbara has been retained as a Deputy General Secretary of the NDC.
Dr. Hanna Louisa Bissiw
Dr. Hanna Bissiw is an outspoken member of the NDC.
She was the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture from 2013 to 2017, and the former Member of Parliament for Tano South, in the Brong Ahafo Region Ghana.
Hannah Bissiw started her political career in 2008. She rose through the ranks from being a member of the NDC Manifesto Committee in 2008, Deputy Minister of State (Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing in 2009, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, and also Member of Parliament for Tano South from 2012 to 2017.
She has been retained as the National Women’s Organiser of the NDC.
There were also the election of three women to serve on the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NDC. They are Victoria Kuma-Mintah, Cecilia N. Asaga, and Araba Tagoe.
Below is list of all the national Executives of the NDC
Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the new Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has described his election as the leader of the Party as “a call to duty.”
“Sunday’s event indicate that the NDC is not done with me yet. I see this election as a call to duty; the duty is enormous,” he said when he delivered his victory speech on Sunday morning to climax the Party’s National Executive Elections.
Mr Nketiah, who had served as General Secretary of the NDC for 17 years, dethroned Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, who became the Party’s Chairman in 2018, but lost his re-election bid.
Mr Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, a former Propaganda Secretary of the NDC is now the new General Secretary.
Mr Joseph Yammin, a former Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, also won the National Organiser contest.
While thanking the delegates for the confidence reposed in the new National Executive Members, Mr Nketiah said his foremost task would be to unite the rank and file of the Party for victory in the 2024 parliamentary and presidential elections.
“This is a victory for the NDC and that their defeat(losing candidates) is not a defeat in the actual sense but an indication that the Party needs them to serve in other positions,” he said.
He described the Party’s National Executive Congress as an election to “regain the independence of this country,” adding: “We are prepared to sacrifice everything, including our lives to ensure that the country is rescued.”
Former President John Dramani Mahama congratulated all the new executives and commended the Party’s delegates for their sacrifices and efforts to the progress of the Party.
“I believe the delegates have the best wisdom and they have told us what they want. It is our duty to work with the blueprint,” he said.
Mr Mahama urged the new executives to “cut their celebrations short” and set to work immediately.
“(Election) 2024 has the highest stake and the executives must understand the responsibilities entrusted on their shoulders,” he said.
The announcement of the Staff-Level Agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund has helped the Cedi’s performance against the US dollar, according to Mr. Seth Terkper, a former finance minister, who spoke with the media on Saturday as he arrived at the Accra Sports Stadium for the 10th National Delegates Congress of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
To maintain the advantages, he stated, “The Government must speed up efforts on its domestic and external debt adjustment Programme.
To support the nation’s economic policies and reforms, the government announced on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, that it had secured a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a three-year, US$3 billion Extended Credit Facility (ECF).
The agreement was reached after a visit by the IMF team led by Mr Stéphane Roudet, Mission Chief for Ghana, from December 1 to 13, 2022, to discuss with the Ghanaian authorities IMF support for their policy and reform plans.
The loan support programme is aimed at restoring Ghana’s macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, protect the vulnerable, preserve financial stability, and lay the foundation for strong and inclusive recovery and growth.
However, the staff-level agreement is subject to IMF Management and Executive Board approval and receipt of the necessary financing assurances by Ghana’s partners and creditors.
In his congratulatory message to the newly-elected national executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama had to be prompted after he made the mistake of referring to Asiedu Nketiah as General Secretary instead of his new role of National Chairman.
The moment was funny and perhaps awkward and reminiscent of President Akufo-Addo’s ‘manka no yie kwraa’ intervention after he mistakenly referred to the New Patriotic Party’s parliamentary candidate of Odododiodioo as Nii Lante Vanderpuye instead of Nii Lante Bannerman.
But when someone occupies a role for 17 years, it becomes difficult for anyone to within five minutes of that person taking over a new role, move on and address him with the credentials of his new position.
Such is the formidability and astuteness of General Mosquito as he is called. For seventeen years he served as General Secretary of the NDC and became synonymous with the position in Ghana’s body politics.
It, therefore, came as a shock when he announced that he was going to move up the ladder and test new waters as National Chairman of the NDC.
The shock was premised on two things;
Why would he leave a position he has been so good at and why would he take up the option of challenging Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo who had also had quite an eventful journey in Ghana’s politics?
But if there was anyone in Ghana politics who could pull this off successfully under the prevailing circumstances, it certainly was Asiedu Nketiah.
It, therefore, came as a shock to no one that at the end of voting on Sunday, December 18, Aseidu Nketiah was named winner of the chairman race with total votes of 5,569.
GhanaWeb today looks at the five reasons behind his success
Experience
In Ghana’s body politics, there is not one person with more experience in intra-party elections than Asiedu Nketiah.
Spending seventeen years in a position that returned a high turnover in the camp of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) means Asiedu Nketiah had mastered the rudiments of winning intra-party politics.
Per his own calculations in his interview with UTV, there have been about six General Secretaries in the NPP since he took over the same role in the NDC and spending such time there teaches you experience.
The NDC’s internal processes are still beautiful – Ofosu-Ampofo
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In his now famous supposedly leaked audio, Asiedu Nketiah spoke about how he had mastered the art of winning intra-party elections.
He knew what to say and what to do to swing votes in his favor and fortunately for him, his closest competitor Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, perhaps, came against the wrong man at the wrong time.
’ We can’t do without him’
Possibly a view from his supporters but when leading members of the NDC talked about Asiedu Nketiah versus Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo race, there was the sense that much as they appreciate the work of Ofosu-Ampofo, Asiedu Nketiah was too valuable a person and institution not to be deeply involved in the party’s organization.
From the Deputy Minority leader to the former MP for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini who spoke on Joy News, there was some acceptance that Asiedu Nketiah makes the NDC tick and that without him the party will struggle, especially going into a must-win election.
Even Victor Smith who openly campaigned against Asiedu Nketiah appreciated that fact, the reason he recommended that should Ofosu-Ampofo have won, Asiedu Nketiah was going to be appointed campaign manager of the NDC for the 2024 elections.
And that idea is not lost on Asiedu Nketiah either. In his leaked audio, he stated that he would have loved to retire but he knows the party, NDC, at this point cannot stand without him.
Ofosu-Ampofo’s ‘questionable’ loyalty to Mahama
Throughout his spell as national chair, Ofosu-Ampofo lived under the tag of not being a Mahama person and with John Mahama currently being the de-facto leader of the party, anyone in an opposing camp stood a high chance of losing intra-party elections.
As claimed by Insuah Fuseini, there is suspicion within the ranks of the NDC that Ofosu-Ampofo has surrounded himself with persons who are identified to be anti-Mahama.
Unlike Ofosu-Ampofo, Asiedu Nketiah is seen to be a person who will do everything within the law to make sure John Mahama returns to the Jubilee House.
Despite John Mahama’s public denial of same, the suspicion that Asiedu Nketiah’s remains a pro-Mahama candidate continues to fester.
Election 2020
Election 2020 proved decisive in the NDC elections for two things. The first one was the election petition and the second was the election of Alban Bagbin as Speaker of Parliament, which outcome is a product of the hung parliament produced by the 2020 elections.
Despite being the one who mounted the witness box in the 2020 election petition, Asiedu Nketiah, as heard in the notorious audio absolved himself of any blame and placed the whole petition fiasco at the doorsteps of Ofosu-Ampofo.
Dirty politics it may seem but that may have been enough to make people, especially NDC delegates, appreciate the issues and vote for him.
Also, there had been a plethora of witnesses from NDC Parliamentarians that but for Asiedu Nketiah’s presence in Parliament on the eve of January 6, 2021, Alban Bagbin could not have won the elections.
These two things were cited by Asiedu Nketiah and his team to drum home the reason for him to win the role.
Natural progression to the top
Some persons argue that Asiedu Nketiah’s decision to run for the chairmanship slots was a self-actualization move for him as he was suffering fatigue of occupying the General Secretary role. He made mention of this in his interviews with Okay FM and UTV on Friday.
There was also a widespread conspiracy that Asiedu Nketiah’s decision was part of a bigger plan by the party’s leadership to introduce someone from the Volta block who identified more with the Volta Region into the national executive committee.
According to reports, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey was impressed upon to offer himself for the position as the party believed that his presence in the committee would benefit the party and its relationship with the Volta Region.
Inusah Fuseini made allusions to this grand plot in his discussion with Joy News.
The former leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, has aired his dissatisfaction with the Akufo-Addo-led administration.
Speaking to party members at the NDC national delegates election on December 17, 2022, at the Accra Sports Stadium, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo said that the Akufo-Addo administration’s level of mismanagement is so evident that even witches from his village have realized and are worried.
“Even the witches and villages from Kyebi say catastrophe, NPP’s Akufo-Addo-Bawumia catastrophic scent ‘agye bebiaa’ has spread everywhere, the NPP catastrophic performance in government has been so repugnant that their own party could not stand the stench of their own rotten government, they started what looks like a cleansing and deodorizing exercise by demanding the sack of Ken Ofori-Atta as finance minister,” he said.
Meanwhile, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, a former NDC general secretary, defeated Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo in the election for national chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that was held in the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday, December 17, 2022.
At the close of polls, Johnson Aseidu Nketiah pulled a total vote cast of 5,569 representing 65.17% whilst Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo garnered 2,892 votes representing 33.81%.
The immediate-past National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, has said that the victory of all the candidates in the just-ended national delegate congress is a foretaste of what to expect in the 2024 general elections.
He expressed confidence in the newly-elected team, adding that the 2024 elections is a battle that the new executives will be able to handle.
He made this known in his official statement to congratulate the new crop of NDC leadership, led by Asiedu Nketiah, the new National Chairman.
“Let us appreciate that this victory is simply a prelude to the battle ahead of us. I pray that we quickly recover from our individual pain and dented reputation to restore our public morality so we can join forces to soldier on,” he said.
Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo lost his re-election bid to Asiedu Nketiah, the former General Secretary of the party, in a 5,569 to 2,892 vote.
Congratulating the new executives, Ofosu-Ampofo stated that there had been unnecessary internal vilifications prior to the elections, which he hoped people would put behind them and forge ahead for victory in 2024.
“On behalf of Team Ofosu Ampofo, I wish to congratulate the newly elected National Chairman and other National Executives of our dear party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who emerged victorious at the just ended 10th National Delegates Congress held at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday, December 17, 2022.
“While this elections needlessly witnessed the worse form of inner vilification, personal attacks and public injury to the hard-won reputation of our Party through various means of public spaces and on social media platforms, this insensitivity would inadvertently affect our restitution, unity and cohesion needed to engender the collective prosecution of our agenda for victory 2024,” he added.
The new executives were sworn into office by officials of the Electoral Commission of Ghana at the Accra Sports Stadium, minutes after the official results were declared on Sunday, December 18, 2022, morning.
Fifi Kwetey, a former Member of Parliament for Ketu South, was also elected as the new general secretary of the party.
Former president John Dramani Mahama has instructed the newly elected national executives of the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) to fasten their belts as work will begin immediately.
He described the 2024 general election as crucial and said the difficult task ahead demands the executives’ undivided focus while carrying out their mandates.
Delivering a speech at the just-ended national congress, the 2020 presidential candidate of the NDC said “We must cut the celebration and set to work immediately.”
“These executives have been elected by the delegates to serve a mandate until 2026 and it is going to be a very important mandate because a most critical election with a higher stake is due in 2024 and these executives are going to oversee it.
“I believe they understand the responsibility that has been thrust on their shoulders. So this celebration must be very short. We must cut the celebration and set to work immediately,” he stressed on Sunday morning.
Further urging unity following the internal elections, Mr. Mahama entreated both election winners and losers to take part in amicable activities.
He claims that there is space under the umbrella, the symbol of the NDC, for anyone.
“We are all the winners, but those who were elected must be gracious in victory and those who have lost, let us understand that there is a lot of room under the umbrella.
“The party might be asking them to serve in other capacities and we are all going to work together to ensure that those who were not elected have a role to play in the victory of 2024,” he noted.
