General Secretary of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has described the incumbent national chairman as a man who lacks courage to take bold decisions on behalf of the party.
The NDC chief scribe who is popularly referred to as ‘General Mosquito’ has therefore charged NDC delegates to vote against Mr. Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo in the upcoming national delegates conference, which is scheduled to take place on December 17, 2022.
He cited the 2019 Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election as an example where Chairman Ofosu-Ampofo, without any proper consultation, announced the party’s decision to pull out from the election after a shooting incident.
He added that the national chairman also directed NDC polling agents and observers to leave the various polling stations, a situation that portrayed an act of cowardice.
“Ofosu-Ampofo called me and I warned him against that decision but he didn’t listen. I was out of the country at the time but the information and facts I had received on the ground showed that we were winning the election, so I was against the decision. He also called John Mahama and the president also asked him not to do that but he also didn’t listen.
“So, you see, as a leader you need to fight in times of crisis and he (Ofosu-Ampofo) doesn’t have the courage to do so. As for me, everyone knows that when you threaten me, I will threaten you back so I have no fear and I am not timid and that is the kind of leadership you need to face the NPP in the upcoming 2024 elections”, General Mosquito reiterated in an interview with Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV, last Friday.
According to General Mosquito, who has officially announced his bid to contest Ofosu Ampofo for the chairmanship slot, the current national chairman lacks the courage and the skills to face the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 elections.
This, he believes, could threaten the party’s chances in the upcoming general election if the status quo remains.
Mr. Ofosu Ampofo’s decision on the Ayawaso by-election, the General Secretary claimed, did not only cost NDC the seat, but it also became the basis for the NPP to abuse members of the party during the 2020 elections.
“You remember the security guys said it’s a dress rehearsal so in 2020 they abused our men and even killed about 8 persons during the general elections. But if we had persisted and stayed through the end of the by-election, NPP wouldn’t have had the courage to do what they did in 2020, including manipulating the outcome of the elections”, he added.
However, Mr. Asiedu Nketiah claimed none of these so-called acts of omission and commission has soiled the cordial working relationship he has with his National Chairman.
“I still have a very cordial relationship with Ofosu-Ampofo in spite of my decision to contest him. We still go about with our normal duties and my decision to contest the chairmanship position won’t bring about division,” he said.
The NDC goes to the polls on December 17, 2022 to elect new national executives and aspirants are criss-crossing the country to appeal for votes from potential delegates who will be elected in October and November this year.
