Information filtering in from credible sources within the National Democratic Congress (NDC) indicates that former John Dramani Mahama is gradually losing his strong grip on the main opposition party.
Veritable information, corroborated by some NDC kingpins, is showing that former President is losing valuable party “kingmakers” to his main challenger Dr. Kwabena Duffuor who recently declared his intention to contest for the party’s flagbearership slot.
Even unrepentant adherents of former President Mahama, THE CUSTODIAN learnt, are having sleepless nights following the entry of the former Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor and business magnate into the presidential race.
The paper has also gathered that an incredibly good performance of Duffuor-backed aspirants in the recent NDC constituency elections across the country, is further giving the Mahama camp more work to do.
“If for nothing at all, the recent constituency elections and the ‘Ahotɔ project’ initiated by Dr. Kwabena Duffuor would compel former President Mahama to spend more cash on delegates before he can win the presidential race”, an NDC bigwig told THE CUSTODIAN.
Former President Mahama won two presidential primaries for the 2016 and 2020 general elections without much work and resources because of his unassailable grip on NDC.
However, Dr. Duffuor’s entry into the race is said to be changing the dynamics as the business magnate and former Minister for Finance under late President John Evans Atta Mills is campaigning with policy initiatives rather than barefaced rhetoric.
Duffuor’s Ahotɔ project is aimed at helping the grassroots of the party to be financially stable in order to run their operations efficiently.
“The Ahotɔ project is a testament to the power of stakeholder engagement, and its credit rests on the rank and file of the party. All these years, you have held the fort for the party and borne the responsibility to cater for the needs of your many constituents”, the former Minister for Finance stated during the official launch of the project the NDC Headquarters in Accra.
‘Mahama should not lead NDC & Ghana again’
Apart from the sleepless nights Dr. Duffuor is causing, there are also some party faithful who think former President Mahama should not be given the opportunity to lead NDC and Ghana again.
One of such proponents is a former executive of the Tema East constituency branch of the NDC, Stephen Ashitey Adjei also known as Moshake.
According to him, former President Mahama is not the proper person to lead the party for 2024 general election.
In an article on happenings in the NDC, Mr. Ashitey Adjei said the former President will be a jumpy president if he runs for office and succeeds in getting elected a second time.
“The problem with a Mahama candidature and even possible presidency is that, he will have such little time on his hands to achieve anything meaningful. Because he has been president before, the two terms limit means that he cannot seek re-election after another term. Within just four years what can anybody do that would significantly impact the country?” Moshake asked rhetorically.
Explaining further, Moshake pointed out that the short four years available to a would-be president Mahama is not even four years in essence.
“He will probably spend the first year, just making appointments. This means that in essence he will have only three years to do what he intends to do and it is just unrealistic to expect that he can do anything much within the short period”.
He added that Mr. Mahama has spent the better part of his life in public life – serving as an Assembly Member, then becoming MP for Bole Bamboi, becoming Deputy Communications Minister and later, Communications Minister, before becoming Vice President and President.
“Mahama has seen it all, whatever that he had to give the country has already been given and it cannot be expected that after spending decades in public office, Mahama can take just 4 years to do something extraordinary that he has not already done.”
According to Moshake, Ghana is going through serious economic challenges that require a leader who will have the time to attend to them, “not one who will be so constrained by the scarcity of time that he is likely to be jumpy in office.”
Selfish interest
Moshake has warned that a Mahama candidature for NDC is nothing but a selfish move that will create leadership succession chaos.
“As a party, we need to be able to convince voters that if they vote us into power, we will provide stable leadership that will take us out of the current economic doldrums. This kind of leader is everything that Mahama cannot be because of the constraint of time.
“And for us in the NDC, a Mahama candidature means we are not programming a leadership succession plan because he is leading again. If even Mahama wins to become president, the question is who will succeed him when he finishes his short one term?” Moshake asked.
According to him, “Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang is also over 70 years meaning we cannot count on her leadership going into the future because of Age but if Mahama becomes flagbearer again, she probably will be the one to whom the baton falls when Mahama’s turn is over.”
He pointed out that because of all of these factors, “Mahama is not suitable to lead the NDC again and by extension, lead Ghana again.”
He rather called on the opposition party to use the time it has to choose a new leader who does not have term limit constraints on his shoulder and use the current election to sell him to Ghanaian voters.
