He said that though the letter is belated, the meeting is long overdue since the divisiveness in the party is a major setback for the NDC. He explained that the letter should have been written before the inception of the Mills-led government, to avert the disputes within the party.
“I have to admit that this message has come far too late. Some of us were of the view that this particular letter should have been written some time back [long time] if not before congress. But it’s better late than never, so if indeed that purported meeting could come on; then I think that it will be good for the NDC.”, he highlighted.
He suggested that the delay by the President and leader of the party to convey the said meeting could stem from the frequent absence of the two leaders –President John Mills and founder, former President Rawlings- and therefore vindicates the Chairman, Dr. Kwabena Agyei.
He opined that “there could be reasons why maybe this meeting hasn’t come on as at now. And you can attribute it [maybe], I’m not holding this for my national chairman but at least we are all aware that his Excellency the founder of our party was out of this country, at least he’s been out of this country within the past two weeks and then his Excellency the President also returned somewhere last week. So, you could attribute it to their absence in the country, to the cause of the meeting not coming on. But again I may not have the full details as to why this meeting hasn’t come off as at now but I think that if it should come off, then it will be a good thing for us.”
The Chairman of the NDC, Dr. Kwabena Agyei, on January 10, 2012 addressed a letter to the Presidency and a copy to former President Rawlings summoning them for an urgent meeting to avoid any obstructions that can potentially mar the chances of the party in the looming elections.
The strong worded letter raised grave concerns about the survival of the party and the fear of a defeat during the general elections.
A portion of the letter read: "However, most party members do not think and feel that they have so far had that political space for which they dedicated their times, energy and resources during the 2008 electioneering campaign. Indeed, my impression is that most of our party members do not even feel that they belong to party they aggressively defend. As a person who, without resources, contributed greatly to our electoral victory all I have deserved are abuse, character assassination, blocking of my efforts and physical threats to my person."
Dr. Agyei further delineated that "In all honesty, I cannot personally hide the fact that I have reached the limit of my patience and tolerance. Indeed, I can no longer put up with the on-going and well-known divisive machinations and schemes that threaten to wreck the party’s very survival and my person as the popularly elected Chairman.”
The issues broached by the party Chairman attracted harsh comments from a Member of Parliament for Lower Manya Krobo, Michael Teye Nyaunu, who rubbished the essence of the letter but Mr. Yammin is optimistic the meeting will build a united front for the NDC.
He emphasized that the “family meeting” is an appropriate means to debar the recurrence of the infighting within the party.
Meanwhile, President Mills reacting to the leaked letter from the NDC Chairman has assured the party functionaries of victory in the impending elections.
Deputy Minister of Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, issued a statement on Wednesday in Accra on behalf of the President, which hinted that President Mills fleetly responded to the letter and held a meeting with the party Chairman to iron out the issues.
The statement further stated that "It is not clear what the motive of whoever leaked this letter to the press is, but President Mills wishes to assure all Ghanaians especially members of the NDC that there is no cause for alarm and that as leader of the NDC he will continue to work in the best interest of our great nation and our dear party."
Story by Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/X fm 95.1/Accra/Ghana
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