Ashanti NDC In‘Mahama By Day, Duffuor By Night’ Campaign
… Top Executives, DelegatesCashing Out ‘Gidigidi’
News Desk Report
Barely five days, to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC’s) parliamentary and presidential primaries slated for May 13, The Anchor is picking up interesting information from the Ashanti Region, where the party is seeking to appreciate its votes in the 2024 general election.
This paper is learning that some regional executives are pretentiously going about campaigning for former President John Dramani Mahama, but at the same time sneaking into the camp of another flagbearer aspirant in the person of Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, a former finance minister.
Insiders told The Anchor, these executives are said to have positioned themselves very well, and leaking information, among others, to their paymasters.
The other group of executives, this paper gathered, have publicly declared their support for the former minister, but that was after they were massively influenced with financial gains.
According to sources, one of the executives whose name will remain anonymous for now has massively vowed to support Dr.Duffuor because they are related. This executive is alleged to be the one sharing monies coming from the Duffuor campaign to the other executives they have won to their side.
This paper’s trusted sources have hinted that the executives have sworn to influence the primaries in the negative way, especially in the presidential election.
The internal saboteurs, as the sources preferred to call them, are apparently scheming with what they say are “other forces” to achieve this agenda.” These forces, The Anchor was informed, are outside of the party, but are financially sound and wield power.
“They are not principled. That is what I have seen. When they see money, money rules first. I am telling you they are planning with other forces to influence the election in the negative way and they are working with other forces,” the source said.
The plan is to buy a good number of the branch executives, as well as observers, and agents in the elections.
Several meetings have been held ahead of this Saturday’s election and moneys expected to be doled out are in the know of these sources who say they will come out at the appropriate time.
“They have gone for meetings and all the prices they are mentioning. What they are doing is that in Ashanti they will influence the branch executives with a lot of money and they will agree and take their money. They will arrange that those who will observe and serve as agents are skewed,” the source added.
One other source, who was keen on the activities of these executives, said they will not be hidden forever. The source warned them to desist from their double standards or be exposed for who they are.
“Those of you who have declared your support for Mahama but behind you are doing something different we know you. You should be cold or hot, but we are following them wherever they are. They are chopping from both camps. It goes beyond Duffuor. Duffuor is being controlled.”
Now, the happening in the region, as far as the election is concerned, is interesting because, in recent past, the party has had reason to investigate some of its past regional executives, some of whom are still serving a new term.
The executives, including the regional chairman, Paa Kwasi Andrew, and the then secretary, Kwame Zu, were alleged to have compromised themselves and were influenced heavily by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the 2020 general election.
They were said to have been induced financially with millions of Ghana cedis resulting in the party performing not so well in the region.
The committee, which was chaired by a former regional minister, Samuel Sarpong, submitted its report as far back as 2021, but the party has failed to make it public. Portions of the report which leaked last year made several recommendations and implicated the two officers of the party.
However, the chairman, who appeared before the committee after an initial decision not to, denied the leaked report ahead of the regional executive election last year, saying that no such findings were made against them.
The NDC is set hold its presidential and parliamentary elections in May for the 2024 general election. Mr. Mahama, who has commenced his campaign across the country, was in the region last week to canvass for votes. Dr.Duffuor, on the other hand, was last seen at the party’s ‘True State of the Nation’ address, delivered by the national chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, at the University for Development Studies Accra (UPS-A) on Monday.
So far, three people have picked forms to contest in the presidential elections.
They are former President John Mahama, former Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, and a former Mayor of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Kojo Bonsu.
The fourth person, United Kingdom (UK)-based Ernest Kwaku Krobuah, after picking nomination forms and paying for submitting them chose not to contest again, but to throw his weight behind the former president.
Interestingly, the two aspirants are coming from the Ashanti Region. Meanwhile, the former president was in the region for the last lap of his campaign last week.
Mr. Mahama, as part of his presence in the region, was accompanied by the regional chairman, Paa Kwasi Andrews, and other executives to attend the programme, marking Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s third ‘Akwasidae.’
Meanwhile, Dr.Duffuor started a four-day Ashanti Region tour on Sunday 6th May, 2023.
Dr. Duffuor is expected to meet all the delegates in the 47 constituencies in the region to spell out his vision to building a formidable party with vibrant grassroots for victory 2024.
On Saturday 5th May 2023, he met the regional executives of the party at the Ashanti Regional office of the party where he briefed the party leadership on his mission to the region.
The NDC flagbearer aspirant on Sunday, this week, started his campaign tour from the Obuasi East constituency in the Obuasi Municipality in the Ashanti Region.
More soon!
Source: Anchorghana.com
