As our beloved NDC re-organizes itself in preparedness for the 2020 elections, one very crucial decision that the party would have to make is the choice of a suitable flag bearer.

Much as some comrades within and outside the party believe that the most important thing at this time is for the party to comprehensively overhaul and renew its jaded machinery after our defeat in the 2016 elections, sight must not be lost of the fact that the choice of a suitable flag bearer equally demands urgent attention as far as the fortunes of the party in any election is concerned.

Indeed, no matter how well organized any party is, it will still face an uphill task of accomplishing the ultimate of an election victory if the right candidate is not chosen.

So far, some very fine gentlemen of the NDC stock have covertly and overtly given indications of contesting the presidential primaries in a bid to take the party back to the Flagstaff House in 2021. All the prospective candidates thus far have what it takes to lead the NDC.

However, there is no denying fact that among the lot, there would be a need to dispassionately compare and contrast the personal and public credentials of all the personalities that have so far come forward; including the former president, John Mahama himself! From our immediate experience of the painful and unexpected loss under his watch, it is imperative that the process of selecting the very best among the intending candidates be done with uncompromising rigour and some deep introspection.

This process must take into account the experience and commitment of the candidate to the party, his/her likability, resourcefulness (not just in terms of finances, but in leadership credentials), his/her general appeal and personal integrity in the eyes of the general public.

The one gentleman who straight up measures up to these attributes and more; and the best candidate to take the party to the Promised Land in 2020, appears to be Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin! He is indeed the one man among his peers who tirelessly has crusaded for the party he always believed in from its embryonic years in 1992 to date. In this arena alone, Bagbin stands tall and unassailable.

His impeccable record in our legislative assembly is a testimony to his longstanding political experience; his rich experience spanning over two decades as a Member of Parliament, Minority Leader and Majority leader and now Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament! Over all these years Bagbin has endeared himself beyond the confines of his Nadowli-Kaleo constituency to millions of Ghanaians both home and abroad with his mastery of parliamentary procedure.

He has thereby contributed immensely to the promulgation of relevant laws that have shaped and will continue to shape the destiny of Mother Ghana.

Bagbin has done more. He has championed the re-organization of our dear NDC by keeping close contact with party members across branches and constituencies throughout the country especially in the in the dark days of opposition politics.

This saw him delivering lectures and speeches at so many events all geared towards energizing the base of the party and bringing all on board to build a winsome and formidable party brand in opposition.
We will never forget Bagbin’s singular contribution to the growth of the NDC during the eight years of a Kuffuor-led NPP regime.

Bagbin was the man who in his capacity then as Minority Leader, consistently and fearlessly gunned on the side of the NDC from the trenches in Parliament. Some other party big wigs who are now lining up today against the man, simply sought shelter only to resurface when the coast was clear!
The same scenario played up during the John Mahama years.

When it was politically suicidal to criticize ones own party in Government, it was this very same man Bagbin who dared to speak up as he saw his own party descending irredeemably into the abyss.

Our comrade spoke up then, not out of malice (as others would have us believe), but as a matter of principle! Alas … if only there were a few more “party men with balls” like Bagbin in the day, I dare say we would not be licking our wounds in opposition today! In this long drawn journey, the Hon. Alban Bagbin has espoused so much integrity in his political and personal life to the extent that his popularity and likability transcend partisan political considerations.

It is common knowledge that the NDC lost the 2016 elections partly as a result of the high perception of corruption within the John Mahama-led government.

This led to a massive wane in public confidence in the government as a whole and John Mahama in particular. So in order for the party to regain the trust and confidence of the populace to boost it’s chances of annexing the presidency in 2020, it is important that a candidate with a proven sense of integrity and credibility is given the opportunity to lead the party.

We cannot look any further than the current Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. A. S.K Bagbin. This is the man who can and will restore the values of integrity and credibility in the NDC. This is the man who can and will put our party back on course.

Furthermore, as a result of his longstanding and unblemished political experience, Hon. Bagbin has built a huge network of human capital across the length and breadth of the country and even beyond the borders of Ghana.

This network comprises of people with diverse backgrounds and orientations - from academia to business and from religion to sports. The network is made up of the old and experienced as well as the youth who are bursting with energy and prepared to take up the challenge of working to dislodge the NPP from the Flagstaff House.

This network serves as an available pool for resource mobilization as well as strategy formulation to better place the party in pole position to win the 2020 elections.

Undoubtedly, the manner of the NDC’s loss in the 2016 polls is a clear indication that the party needs to do something out of the ordinary in order to convince the masses to entrust governance into our hands again.

The most important thing the party would have to deal with is the issue of who leads the party in 2020. As enumerated above, there cannot be any good reason for which Hon Alban S.K. Bagbin would be overlooked in the search for new leadership in the NDC. The man is a man of destiny.

He has all it takes to strategically position the NDC for victory in 2020. He is in my view, the best choice among the other contenders for the position of Presidential Candidate!

LONGLIVE THE HON ALBAN BAGBIN
LONGLIVE THE NDC
LONGLIVE MOTHER GHANA