An aspirant in the race for the chairmanship of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Dan Korshie Abodakpi, has said it is time for the leadership of the NDC to “change baton to bring in fresh limbs and energy to replace tired legs."

He said it was the surest bet to increasing the prospects of the party in the 2016 general election.

The former trade minister and ambassador to Malaysia, who is competing against incumbent Dr Kwabena Adjei and National Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Kofi Portuphy, was canvassing for votes from more than 400 delegates in the Ashanti Region as part of his national tour. He was on his final leg of the regional tour after meeting delegates from 20 constituencies last Monday and 27 on Tuesday to complete his campaign in the region.

Mr Abodakpi continued his tour to the Upper West Region yesterday and would go to the Brong Ahafo and back to the Greater Accra regions to complete his first phase of the campaign ahead of the October internal election.

He has already been to the Western Region.

He says he brings on board a transformational leadership style and an ability of connecting back with the people.

“As far as NDC is concerned, it is the party which should be considered as the winning team and not a particular group of people. Our party is like a platoon of soldiers where we work as a collective group and every victory is dedicated to the platoon,” he said.

Mr Abodakpi said there was a lot of discontentment and disconnection between leadership and the grass roots, and that was frightening and could be disastrous as the party headed for the 2016 elections.

He noted that there was the need to re-establish the values on which the party was founded and reconnect to the ordinary people.

“Our party is not for the rich or the bourgeois; it’s for the ordinary people like you and me, and we must not lose sight of that,” Mr Abodakpi told the delegates.

The former PNDC Secretary of Trade called on party faithful to shun people who only become NDC members when they were offered positions and fizzled out when the party went into opposition.

He called for equity within the party’s rank and file, saying the Ashanti Region must not suffer but rather have its fair share of the “cake because they were the game changers during the last election."

The former Member of Parliament for the Keta Constituency for 12 years made a number of promises to, among others, pull everybody along with him and not serve on any board.

He said he would not have the moral right to question the system or institutions if he served on boards “because I would want to oversee all these institutions."

He also promised a firm, resolute leadership to prosecute the agenda of the NDC.