NDC Polls: Asiedu Nketiah on a 'self-seeking' launch when party has many challenges - Dela Edem

A member of the communications team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dela Edem, has raised strong concerns about the eagerness of the General Secretary, Asiedu Nketiah, in launching his campaign to become the next national chairman. Contained in a statement, Dela Edem wondered why the General Secretary feels this is the right time to be pushing such an agenda especially when the party has just come out of national constituency elections that were riddled with many challenges. He also stated that it appears the personal interests of the party CEO seem more important to him than the overall outlook and performance of the NDC. “Comrades, at a time when the NDC is holding crucial constituency elections which have so far been fraught with several challenges, including unavailability and delays in the arrival of ballot papers, lawlessness and indiscipline, the General Secretary of the NDC is embarking on a self-seeking launch of his bid to become National Chairman of the party on Tuesday, October 25, 2022. “Clearly, appearing to be putting the cart before the horse, Hon. Asiedu Nketiah thinks that his personal ambitions should supersede the larger interest of the NDC to the extent that he is not bothered by the numerous reports of challenges with the constituency elections,” he wrote. Dela Edem further wondered what it is that Asiedu Nketiah intends to do about the fact that some constituencies went ahead to hold elections although there were several issues of infractions related to the polls. Also, he questioned the General Secretary’s approach to news of how in some places, people arrogated to themselves powers so much that they stopped the conduct of the elections in some constituencies. “Have reports of some constituencies going ahead with elections in flagrant disregard for directives by FEC and the National Elections Directorate for postponement due to some infractions, come to the attention of the General Secretary of the NDC, and is he interested in enforcing discipline and upholding the guidelines governing the fair and peaceful conduct of the elections? “What about reports of some individuals who have arrogated to themselves the power to stop elections in some constituencies without the knowledge of the party? While these issues linger on and have the potential of throwing the entire internal election timetable off gear, the General Secretary of the party, who is the party’s Chief Executive Officer charged with the responsibility of shepherding and steering the successful conduct of these internal elections, is rather so fixated with the pursuit of his personal ambition to the neglect of this all-important internal reorganisation exercise,” he added. Also, Dela Edem stated, “why does the General Secretary, Asiedu Nketiah, appear to even be launching his campaign for election as the National Chairman of the NDC when not even regional executives have done so. ”It is worth mentioning that the regional elections of the NDC will take place ahead of the national elections. “As we speak, I am not aware of a single aspirant for a regional position who has launched his campaign anywhere in the country, let alone the General Secretary of the NDC. Such a high-ranking party official, should not be getting ahead of himself at this critical time when leadership must show good example. “Let’s not allow self-interest to drive us at this critical juncture. We must be bold to call a spade a spade and not a digging tool,” he added. Asiedu Nketiah is hoping to unseat Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, the current National Chairman, in a race that has been described by many as an unhealthy one. In an earlier GhanaWeb poll, respondents believed that Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, will beat the outgoing General Secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, to the chairmanship position of the party in the upcoming national executive election. Almost 83,000 readers of GhanaWeb took part in the poll, which was held between Monday, October 10 and Friday, October 14, 2022. Out of the over 82,000 participants, nearly 49,663, representing approximately 60 per cent of the respondents, said that Samuel Ofosu Ampofo should be retained in his position. Most of the respondents, sharing why they voted for Ofosu Ampofu, said he had served the party well and deserved to be retained. The national elections of the NDC are scheduled to be held on December 17, 2022. Watch the latest episode of The Lowdown below: You can also watch this episode of People & Places on GhanaWeb TV: AE/DO