A former Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Antwi Boasiako-Sekyere, has called on the 13-member probing committee set up by the leadership of National Democratic Congress (NDC) to investigate the party’s defeat in the December elections to be more visible.

According to the minister under President John Evans Atta Mills administration, he has not heard anything from the Committee since its inauguration.

The NDC late last year formed a 13-member committee to investigate and establish the cause of the party’s defeat in the December 7 general election, but Mr Boasiako-Sekyere said he was yet to see the committee work.

The General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, said the committee chaired by former Minister of Finance and Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission, Prof. Kwesi Botchwey, was expected to submit its report within 90 days after its inauguration.

Other members of the committee are Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, the immediate past Speaker of Parliament; Alhaji Hudu Yahaya, Naval Capt. Asaase Gyimah, Mr William Ahadzi, the Director of Research at the NDC headquarters; Mr Ibrahim Zuberu, a lecturer at the Accra Technical University and member of the NDC; Mr Razak Abu, a researcher at NDC’s Development Challenge; Mrs Juliana Azumah Mensah, a former MP for Agotime-Ziope; and Ms Barbara Serwah Asamoah, a former deputy minister.

Also included in the committee are four members of the NDC’s parliamentary caucus.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Kasapa FM’s Daakyehene Ofosu Agyeman, Mr Boasiako-Sekyere said the committee members must wake up if they were sleeping because the party needed to know the cause of their defeat.

He revealed further that he believed the neglect of the grass roots of the NDC led to their defeat in the December 7 elections.

Mandate of Committee

Mr Nketia said the Committee was expected to “review and validate the results of the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections and find out the causes of the poor performance of the NDC in both the presidential and the parliamentary elections, as well as deal with other matters reasonably related to the above objectives and to make recommendations to the National Executive Committee about the way forward.”

He said the Committee was expected to conduct hearing among the rank-and-file of the party, as well as solicit views from members of the party across the country for review to restructure itself.

Election results

John Dramani Mahama, who was the flag bearer of the NDC in the December 7 general election, lost to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The NDC also lost more than 40 parliamentary seats to the NPP, which has given the NPP majority in Parliament.