Rawlings Battles For Control Of NDC

After the failed effort to get his wife elected the presidential candidate of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), former President Rawlings is said to be making what seems like a hysterical attempt to get a foothold in the party of which he is the founder. Some intelligence reports picked up by Daily Guide indicate that Mr Rawlings is not too happy with the current structure of the NDC in which most key and influential positions at both national and constituency levels are occupied by persons with an unflinching support for President Atta Mills, leaving the Rawlingses with virtually no control in the party. This, according to our sources is what has prompted the former President and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings to make efforts to sponsor a number of aspirants across the length and breadth of the country to contest the upcoming NDC primaries to elect parliamentary candidates ahead of the 2012 general elections. Though Daily Guide tried to a comment from spokesperson for the Rawlingses, Kofi Adams who doubles as NDC Deputy General Secretary, it has so far been unsuccessful. He has not returned calls to his cell phone or answered our text messages but the move is considered a major step by the Rawlingses to not only gain an influence in the party but also prepare the grounds for Mrs Rawlings to stage a comeback to lead the party in 2016. Among the host of names that have so emerged as those likely to be sponsored by the Rawlingses, is NDC youth activist in the Ashanti region, Ernest Brogya Gyenfi who recently visited Mr Rawlings at his Ridge office together with the Ashanti Regional Secretary, Joseph Yamin and one other person allegedly asking him to leave the party. Brogya Gyenfi who was recently sacked as Public Relations Officer of the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council for supposedly supporting Nana Konadu�s bid to lead the NDC was said to be eyeing the Bantama constituency seat. Some have even suggested it was one of the reasons why he and his colleagues recently visited the former President to somewhat make his stand clear to him. It is not surprising that one of the things that came out of that visit was Gyenfi�s claim that Mr Rawlings told them he would not campaign for President Mills in his re-election bid since he could not go to war with cowards but however said he would campaign for some individual parliamentary candidates possibly including himself. One other person likely to be sponsored by the former first couple is NDC youth activist, Mohammed Abdulai Mubarak popularly called Ras Mubarak. Ras Mubarak, who was strangely missing in the run up to the recent Sunyani congress which saw Nana Konadu�s defeat in what some have described as the annihilation of the Rawlingses from the NDC, flew into the country over the weekend to bid for a position in parliament. Presently, it is not clear which constituency he might be contesting for. Sources said he was likely to contest any of these four constituencies-Kumbungu where he hails from, Tamale North, Asawase in the Ashanti region where he grew up and Ablekuma North where he has been living since he relocated to Accra in 2003. Indications are that Ras may not contest the Asawase primaries considering the fact that the seat is currently occupied by his own maternal uncle and MP for the area, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak. According to our source, even though Muntaka belongs to the Castle and Mills camp, it would not be a reason for Ras to contest him. It would be interesting to see if he would challenge Foreign Affairs Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, Alhaji Yakubu Imoro, current NDC MP for the Kumbungu or Alhaji Abukari Sumani who currently occupies the Tamale North constituency seat on the ticket of the NDC. Party insiders say Ablekuma North seems the most likely but Ras Mubarak declined to either confirm or deny whether he was in town because of the primaries or which constituency he had targeted. Though Kofi Adams has had cause to rubbish earlier reports suggesting that one of the three daughters of the Rawlingses, Yaa Asantewaa was likely to contest the North Tongu seat in the Volta region, our source said they are rather considering putting their eldest daughter, Ezenator up for one of the seats in the Volta region. It is not clear which constituency Ezenator would be looking to annex if she should indeed decide to go for a parliamentary seat. Other people that were likely to throw in their hats for the upcoming primaries according to DAILY GUIDE�s source are one Mohammed Aboagye, brother of Alhassan Suhini of Radio Gold fame for Tamale South and one Chris Addy-Nayo, a Brussels based senior consultant at TRADECOM. Aboagye is a friend of Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communications and current MP for Tamale South. The rest according to the source included one Alhaji Haruna Rashid Ibrahim, a US based financial analyst and current NDC Ashanti Regional Secretary, Joseph Yamin for the Asokwa constituency.