Blows In Parliament Over Mills

There was near exchange of blows among some NDC MPs in Parliament House yesterday, following a suggestion by the MP for Lower Manya Krobo, Michael Teye Nyaunu, that the party?s flagbearer be removed on account of his alleged poor health. According to Hon Nyaunu, The NDC presidential candidate needed no medical officer to pronounce that he was terribly sick, pointing out that Prof Mills could not withstand the rigours of the campaign.

He said the December polls would not be for the weak. ?Whether we like it or not, we are going into the race like wounded tigers, and we cannot allow a sheep to lead lions into such a battle.I?m afraid for my party,? he warned. The NDC MP?s bombshell immediately sparked off controversy in the party, with the leadership calling for a crisis meeting to douse the raging inferno which if not well managed, could further polarize the party. A statement issued after the meeting late in the evening condemned the MP for his comments. ?Whilst the party respects Hon Teye Nyaunu?s right to express his view, the party finds the statement uninformed, distasteful and unethical?, a statement signed by Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah, General Secretary said.

The National Executive Committee, the statement said, has invited Nyaunu and the Minority leadership in Parliament to a meeting. Madina-based Oman FM in Accra had on Tuesday dropped the hint that moves to oust Prof Mills have reached advanced stage, with Council of Elders of the party only waiting for his arrival from South Africa to impress on him the need to step down, citing his alleged deteriorating poor health. The council under the chairmanship of party founder, Jerry John Rawlings is expected to meet next week to take critical look at the state of affairs of the party as per chances of the NDC under Mills? candidature.

Speculations are rife that the Krobo MP may be acting on behalf of some powerful forces in the party, but the MP flatly denied the assertion, saying that he was old enough to take decisions on his own. The 50-year old former cadre shook the hornet?s nest when he openly expressed his doubts about the physical fitness of Professor John Evans Atta Mills to run for the December 7, 2008 general elections, and urged all party faithful to be frank and call a spade a spade. Yesterday?s fight over Mill?s health, which incidentally had lingered on in the media for several months now, but had been consistently denied by members of his campaign team, was ignited when the MP contended that the party would be in crisis if it keeps the flagbearer till December.

The MP, who appeared to have been rehearsing his statement at coffee break at about 10.39am yesterday, asked journalists to gather at a point because he had ?something? for them. Little did anyone suspect he had a bombshell of that magnitude.He then proceeded to say that fresh NDC congress be called to pick a new flagbearer as the professor?s health was fast deteriorating. Claiming that he was acting as the spokesperson for the voiceless majority in the party, Hon Nyaunu said many of the faithful agree that the former law lecturer and one time vice-President should be replaced without delay.?The NDC should be bold enough to go for a new candidate because he wouldn?t be able to withstand the heat during the elections,? said the usually quiet legislator.

The MP, who has 12 years experience in the house, said this year?s election is a ?war? that needed to be fought with all zeal, and imputed that Mills is too submissive for it.According to him, even though it was a painful conclusion to come to, he felt it would be in the larger interest of the party to drop Prof Mills, saying his state of health was glaring. ?You need not necessarily be a doctor to know that someone is sick. He is a fine gentleman, but unfortunately he would be incapable of withstanding the pressure during the campaign. I say the man is sick. Period,? he said.He also slammed Prof Mills? much hyped house-to-house campaign, saying that it was not working.?How many houses can he cover before the elections?? he questioned.

The revelation incurred the wrath of other NDC parliamentarians around, including Enoch Tei Mensah (Ningo/Prampram), Moses Asaga (Nabdam) and Abukari Sumani (Tamale North), who virtually traded insults with Nyaunu for daring to speak his mind.But for the intervention of Richard Quarshigah, an ardent NDC member, the verbal scuffle that ensued could have degenerated into a brawl. Apart from the three MPs, the assertion attracted series of reactions from several quarters of the party, with Rojo Mettle-Nunno, a communications director of the Mills Campaign Team calling the bluff of the Lower Manya MP.According to Rojo, if Prof Mills has to be carried in a wheelchair for his campaign, they would not hesitate to do so.Responding, Hon. Mahama Ayariga, MP for Bawku and Mills? spokesperson, said the NDC had matured as a political party and that the MP had the liberty to express his reservations.

According to him, he hitherto had thought that the much touted state of health of the professor was the machination of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), but regretted painfully that powerful people within the NDC were also expounding the same theory. Mr. Koku Anyidoho, communications director of the Mills Campaign Team, said the MP?s statement was extremely diversionary.Imputing that the Krobo MP was a Judas, Anyidoho said he was not surprised because even Jesus Christ was betrayed by one of his own disciples. Eric Ametor Quarmyne, deputy spokeperson for the professor?s campaign team noted that the import of Nyaunu?s statements had all the potential of undermining the Mills campaign.

Expressing his worry at the development to Daily Guide in the presence of Kweku Tawia Ampah, another member of the team, Quarmyne said there was the possibility that the MP belonged to a certain group, more so when he said he was representing a ?voiceless faction?. ?Wouldn?t it have been more civilized to contact the party hierarchy instead of going on air? he asked rhetorically. After several months of denials and rebuttals of claims of poor health of Professor John Evans Atta-Mills, twice defeated NDC flagbearer, official party sources now say he should be replaced before he ?crumbles? due to pressure.Deep throat sources from within the party indicated to DAILY GUIDE that the Council of Elders would be meeting next week, by which time the candidate must have returned from South Africa, to consider the possibility of a ?physically capable candidate?.

Hon. Michael Teye Nyaunu is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament. He rose to his current level as a cadre in the PNDC days, where he was a member of the People?s Defence Committee (PDC) and Cadres for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR) activist.