Konadu Snubs NDC

Former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings was conspicuously missing at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) extraordinary delegates’ congress held at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi yesterday.

Nana Konadu, who was linked with the newly-formed National Democratic Party (NDP), a breakaway party of the NDC, had always accompanied her husband, former President Jerry John Rawlings, to all major political events including NDC congresses. At yesterday’s congress however, Jerry Rawlings came unaccompanied by his better half.

Mr. Rawlings came to the event grounds with suspended Deputy General Secretary of the party and spokesperson for the Rawlingses, Kofi Adams.

Thursday’s delegates’ congress was a landmark event for the NDC, which was to endorse a new flagbearer to replace Prof John Evans Atta Mills who suddenly died five months to the December 7 general elections.

All party bigwigs were present at the unprecedented party event in Kumasi.

The reason for Mrs. Rawlings’ absence was not immediately known, but information reaching DAILY GUIDE indicated that her decision to stay away from the NDC activity was to show the Rawlingses’ disagreement with the modus operandi of the current hierarchy of the ruling party.

Nana Konadu, who was the First National Vice Chairperson of the party, had such strong reservations about the then Mills-led NDC style of governance, and for the first time in the history of the party, she resigned her position to contest Mills in his bid for re-election for the 2012 general elections at Sunyani in 2011.

At the controversial Sunyani congress, Nana Konadu lost overwhelmingly to ex-President Mills who swept over 97 percent of the votes from the 3000 delegates.

Nana Konadu came out of the Sunyani congress seething with anger because she claimed the votes were rigged. Since then, she had not been spotted at any major NDC activity.

DAILY GUIDE can confirm that a formal invitation was sent to ex-President Rawlings and not his wife Nana Konadu.

But party General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia was said to have explained that the invitation to the former President naturally covered his wife.

Meanwhile, some delegates DAILY GUIDE spoke to were clearly uncomfortable with the absence of the former first lady.

According to them, it sent worrying signals about the disunity in the party.

They claimed that the development could have adverse implications on the fortunes of the party, particularly in Kumasi, the hometown of Nana Konadu.