JJ To Dump Eddie Annan

…If Wife Is Not Made Running Mate

Credible reports filtering into the offices of The Independent speak of canyon developing between former Prez. Jerry John Rawlings and his close pal, Mr. Eddie Annan, one of the four presidential aspirants of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) over recent misunderstandings as to who should partner the latter in the event of him winning the slot to lead the party to Election 2008.

The reports say, the former President has tied his continued support for Mr. Eddie Annan to the conditionality of him making his wife and former first lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, his running mate in the event where he gets the nod to lead the party to the next general elections.

Sources close to newsmen within the NDC have hinted that, if Mr. Eddie Annan refuses to succumb to the demands of the former President he would suffer the same fate as Dr Obed Yao Asamoah suffered at the party’s Koforidua congress.

As a means of indicating to Mr. Eddie Annan that the demand and condition are real, according to our sources, structures are ready in place to stage-manage his defeat at the December congress if he refuses to yield.

Sources close to the former president also speak of a grand design to stage-manage the victory of Professor John Evans Attah Mills should Mr. Annan refuse to play ball with the former president.

NDC insiders have also hinted that, the issue of who runs with Mr Eddie Annan has not been an issue until recently when it became apparent that Mr. Eddie Anna is garnering support among party delegates and that was when Mr. Rawlings, who is seen as the founder of NDC, came up with his proposal.

The current development, our sources, say, is causing apprehensions in Mr. Eddie Annan’s camp as the alleged threat by the former president to withdraw his support could have disastrous consequences for the latter at the party’s December congress.

The sources told The Independent that, Mr. Annan was emboldened and strengthened to enter the flagbearership race on the basis of support of Mr. Rawlings, who had earlier pledged to help him secure victory at the congress. Our NDC sources say, Mr. Eddie Annan, whose campaign has received a lot of support countrywide, has his own permutation as to who would run with him in case he succeeds in winning the party’s slot. Mr. Eddie Annan, one of the four NDC flagbearership aspirants is currently on the final leg of his campaign and has received a lot of applause for his campaign messages. He is one of the aspirants whose campaign has been devoid of acrimony, backbiting and insults.