Ahead Of Saturday�s NDC Congress: CHANGE OR CONTINUITY? - But, Dr Kwabena Adjei Has Upper Hand

The impending national delegates� conference of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) promises two things: CHANGE or CONTINTUITY. Undoubtedly, while some key NDC members and its supporters have embraced CHANGE, The aL-hAJJ wishes to remind them that change is replete with huge cost: UNCERTAINTY. Various supporters of the various contenders in the upcoming congress of the party have failed to recognize the dangers in a wholesale overhaul of the Kwabena-Adjei-led national executives, which at least have worked very hard over the past eight years to ensure successes for the party. They have maintained absolute harmony between the party and the government both during the late President Mills� term and the current Mahama government. The point that has been glossed- over by many critics is whether those who want to replace them can replicate their record. �If I were President Mahama, I will be wary and weary with hotchpotch of individuals moving in a political phalanx and claiming to be loyal to him after they supported former President Rawlings� wife to challenge his mentor, former President Mills at the Sunyani Congress�, an elder of the party recently told his paper on condition of anonymity. One may see it as one of the paradoxes of politics and life itself in general, when President Mahama is said to have pitched camp with certain contenders and is said to be supporting them through his lieutenants against others. For avoidance of doubt, the present national executives ably supported the late President Mills against Nana Konadu in an epic internal political struggle that had to do more with the political fate of John Mahama than Prof Mills himself. For every discerning person at that time knew that the late Professor was fighting for his successor and for the unity and stability of both his party and government than for himself. The biggest beneficiary ended up to be President Mahama. It cannot be gainsaid that the ruling NDC at this juncture badly needs rejuvenation as it prepares to go into the 2016 elections with the hope of making history as the only political party in the annals of Ghana to have retained power after serving two terms in government. Whereas indications are pointing to a possible realization of this enviable achievement, it cannot be denied that it would be anchored on the crop of national leaders the ruling party elects at its Saturday congress in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi. Suffice to say that although the current national executives, chaired by Dr Kwabena Adjei and ably backed by able lieutenants like Kofi Portuphy, Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, Yaw Boateng Gyan, Kofi Adams, Jemima Anita Desoso and others have been given accolade by the enthusiastic party supporters for working vigorously in opposition to win the 2008 elections and retained power in 2012, they are said to have become complacent in recent times. This and many other reasons are why the NDC needs to change cause and turn a new life, particularly if the party is serious about scoring an unprecedented electoral and political hat-trick by winning the next presidential and parliamentary elections. It is truism that in the eyes of the grassroots and the teeming sympathizers of the party, both leadership of the NDC party and government have been disappointing for obvious reasons. This is said to have trickled down to the grassroots and has intensely created attrition and division among the rank and file of the party to the extent that members of the party and its communicators are lackluster in defending the records of the party. In the midst of these distressing happenings in the governing party, the logical conclusion, however, going into the crucial Saturday congress would have been a complete overhauling of the present national executives to inject the needed fresh hands in order to bring fresh ideas on how the party should be run. However, voting out all the present national executives as Dr Kwabena Adjei�s opponents are advocating would amount to passing a vote of no confidence on the Mahama administration and pushing for its replacement in the 2016 elections. For the NDC party is the mirror of the NDC government. Whiles calls to replace present national executives may be legitimate, it would for all intent and purpose pose severe danger to the NDC party and government should that manifest, especially going into the 2016 elections. It is not just for nothing that the NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah aka General Mosquito is virtually going �unopposed�, but the sad spectacle about it is that those calling for Dr Adjei and Yaw Boateng Gyan�s replacement ironically, are the people showering tons of praises on Asiedu Nketiah for a good job done; ignoring the fact that the General Secretary did not achieve the enviable feat alone. It therefore stands to reason that General Mosquito has embarked on an audacious crusade to get his counterparts like Dr Adjei and Yaw Boateng Gyan retained for obvious reasons that opponents of the duo are not privy to. General Mosquito�s endorsement of the incumbent chairman and national organizer is testament to the fact that all the political gains the NDC made under his watch were achieved collectively with the inputs of all the present national executives including the two vice-chairmen struggling to dislodge their boss. Much as critics say the present executives have lost some steam and needed to be booted out of office, those trying to unseat the incumbent chairman morally, ethically and technically cannot claim better replacers either. This is because Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, Kofi Portuphy and Dan Abodakpi were all strong forces in the current national executive set up, and have one way or the other played an integral role in the running of the party since it came to power in 2008. Ambassador Dan Abodakpi has ceaselessly attended and contributed to National Executive Committee meetings of the party, Alhaji Huudu Yahaya and Kofi Portuphy have been vice chairmen even before the 2008 elections, therefore, they share in the success story as well as the shortcomings of the Kwabena Adjei-led administration. If the national executive is being blamed for complacency, low expectations, dormant party structures and others, all the four must take blame for it. In so far as there is no record of any public protestation to how the party was run under Kwabane Adjei by any of the three aspirants. All the four aspirants have their strengths and weaknesses and it is believed that the dexterous manner in which these gentlemen complement each other�s effort is seen on how the party beat an incumbent government in 2008 and retained power in the 2012 election. As stated earlier, it is true the party needs to craft new ways of doing things going into the 2016 elections, and excitingly all the four aspirants have pledged to do exactly that. However, the mere fact that three gurus of the party are seeking to dislodge the incumbent does not mean the incumbent Chairman has lost legitimacy to be in the driving seat. The aL-hAJJ would like to posit that in the spirit of cohesion, stability, uniformity and continuity the obvious choice of national chairman for the NDC after the Saturday congress should be Dr Kwabena Adjei, who might have learnt his lessons the hard way and therefore would be expected to lead the party for its expected third consecutive third term since 2008. His re-election would mean that he would have his work cut down giving the splendid chemistry that exist between him and the jolly-riding- to-victory General Secretary Asiedu Nketia since their days in the Agric Ministry and Parliament. This would also help the party as the present harmony between the NDC and government would not be disturbed as evident in the New Patriotic Party where the current flag bearer Nana Addo and key figures of the national executives have become bitter rivals going into the 2016 elections. Party and government cohesion would be crucial in deciding whether the NDC would retain power in 2016. The party would have to be strategic to tap the experience and intellect of the Dr Adjei�s contenders in the event they lose at congress and that is the only surest way for the NDC to retain power. On the Vice Chairman slot, the NDC as a mass party and a party with equal representation, it would not be strange if delegates reward hardworking, loyal, committed, dedicated and enterprising aspirants mindful of geographical spread. It is expected that out of the many aspiring vice chairman, the Western, Central, Ashanti, Northern/Muslim, Eastern and Greater Accra regions would be represented. On the national organizer position, both Yaw Gyan and Kofi Adams are giants in the party and anyone of them could win. The aL-hAJJ wishes all aspirants good luck, and the NDC a successful congress.