Can NDC Unite? - After Vicious Propaganda Campaign

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) faces an uphill task to unite the rank and file of the party ahead of Election 2016 following the vicious propaganda that characterised the campaign for election of national executives. At the root of the division is the rivalry between the two most powerful people in the party�s hierarchy whose work will define NDC�s fortunes in 2016: retained General Secretary Johnson Asiedu-Nketia and newly-elected National Organiser, Mr Kofi Adams. Mr Johnson Asiedu-Nketia, who is of the view that Mr Adam has not been loyal to the party is on record to have said that he cannot work with Mr Adams. In a response, Mr Adams said Mr Asiedu-Nketia has lost respect in the NDC. The feud between the two started in 2012 when Mr Adams was suspended by the party after he was implicated in a secret tape recording in which he was heard promising party foot-soldiers soft loans and National Security identification cards to enable them do a yet to-be-instructed job during the December polls. The purported voice of Mr Adams on the tape also said it would do everything possible to ensure the NDC loses the 2012 elections. But Mr Adams vehemently rejected the allegations and even went to court to clear his name after he was suspended. Another source of friction between Mr Adams, spokesperson for ex-President J.J. Rawlings, and Mr Asiedu-Nketia resulted from the perception that Mr Asiedu-Nketia spearheaded the annihilation of ex-President J.J. Rawlings from the NDC. Mr Asiedu-Nketia�s influence under threat Mr Asiedu-Nketia, who is currently considered the most powerful in the party, said publicly on radio during the campaign that some of the newly-elected executives told delegates that when voted into office, they will work to reduce his influence in the party. Kofi Adams fires Asiedu-Nketia (Facebook) �Now, the game is over, and we've all seen our smoothness levels. �Those who [sic] says that the NDC doesn't belong to Chairman Rawlings, but turned around to lay claim to the party to the extent of telling delegates to reject ‪#‎KofiAdams [sic] has also seen their real sizes. �The National Organiser contest between Kofi Adams and ‪#‎WofaYaw in Congress wasn't just an election. �It was an occasion where truth triumphed over lies; It was a referendum on General Mosquito's popularity. He openly endorsed, and campaigned vigorously for ‪#‎Wofa_Yaw, but his [sic] annoited one was rejected overwhelmingly. �It was also an endorsement of a grassroots man whose popularity keeps rising, and spreading like a wild [sic] harmatan fire. �It tells you that the NDC delegate is the most sophisticated 'political animal' ever. They don't follow people sheepishly, and they know better. �The lesson here is that, you must never swim against the tide� he said. Clearly, Mr Adams and Mr Asiedu Nketia working together for victory in 2016 cannot be guaranteed. Dr Kwabena Adjei�s serious allegations Defeated Chairman Dr Kwabena Adjei, a.k.a. Nkonya Terminator 1, made a damning allegation when he accused his main opponents in the party�s chairmanship race of using resources from questionable sources to fund their campaigns and buy votes. He said when the party needed resources to operate, all his opponents said there was no money, but all of a sudden, the campaign was characterised by vote buying and sharing of rice, sugar, as well as building materials in some cases. He threatened to demand answers concerning how such individuals came by the resources used in the campaign. Dr Adjei�s accusation is a serious one, and the question is, will government investigate them? Pro-NDC media angry over vote-buying Some pro-NDC media houses endorsed Dr Adjei�s position and went as far as accusing Flagstaff House, the seat of government, of sponsoring persons aligned to President John Dramani Mahama and ex-President Rawlings to unseat defeated executives who were aligned to former President John Evans Atta Mills. The stories of the pro-NDC media houses can be said to mirror the views of a section of NDC supporters who were behind the defeated executives. As at the time of filing this report, the Flagstaff House had not responded to the accusation. President Rawlings� extension of a hand of invitation to his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, to return to the party is an indication that he now feels at home with most of the newly-elected executives, but certainly not Mr Asiedu-Nketia. There are other equally damaging remarks by other competitors that have angered the rank and file of the party who were supporting the candidature of certain individuals. Clearly, the vicious propaganda during the elections will hunt the NDC in the years to come. Certainly, if deliberate efforts are not made to reconcile the feuding parties and thousands of disenchanted NDC supporters whose candidates lost, the party can be said to be on the way to opposition.