'Barking dog' Rawlings is still caged; can't campaign- Nyaunu

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Lower Manya Krobo Constituency, Michael Teye Nyaunu, has rebuffed reports that former President and founder of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Jerry John Rawlings, will be in the front line of the party's campaign ahead of the December polls.

He questioned why the NDC was expecting a 'barking dog' to join its campaign to secure the mandate of the people for another term in office.

Mr. Nyaunu bluntly stated: “... the founder will not campaign for the NDC because he is still a barking dog and he needs to be caged. They will campaign for the NDP, National Democratic Party and not the National Democratic Congress.”

The irate NDC MP said this on an Accra based radio station on Thursday.

The legislator said Mrs. Rawlings is qualified to lead the NDP because “[she is well educated and has the required ability to vie for the presidency]”.

On that score, Mr. Nyaunu asserted that Mr. Rawlings’ comments on President Mahama to the Volta Regional House of Chiefs in Ho a few weeks ago, were misinterpreted by government functionaries for political purposes.

He explained, “Rawlings never declared his support for John Mahama. Rawlings said John Mahama taking over the realm of affairs has brought a spark and hope for the NDC. I think Rawlings is very conscious of the choice of words he uses.”

He seized the opportunity to express his sympathy to President John Dramani Mahama.

“The President has inherited a very fragmented party and I wonder what he can do within this limited time of two or three months to unify the party.”