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Founder of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), Dr. Obed Asamoah, has rejected claims that the decision to merge with the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) is for opportunistic purposes, saying it has nothing to do with the fact that the NDC is in power. According to him, the DFP would have merged with the NDC irrespective of their being in power pointing out that the deep gulf that was created between the two parties was as a result of the absence of internal democracy. �The DFP would certainly have merged with the NDC even if it was in opposition because what threw us out of the NDC had nothing to do with power but the absence of internal democracy, particularly with regards to what happened in Koforidua where some of us were subjected to a lot of brutalities with some members sustaining injuries,� he explained. Speaking in an interview on Peace FM�s Kokrokoo Morning show, the former NDC National Chair disclosed that he played a leading role in the formation of the NDC, but had to abandon ship for fear of dear live. �Ordinarily, we wouldn�t have left the NDC. You know I had a big hand in the formation of the NDC and wouldn�t have liked to leave the party but the way things were going we had to save our life. We are doing the merger now because things have changed; things like internal democracy I must concede has grown within the NDC so the reason why we left does not exist anymore,� he added. Dr Obed Asamoah acknowledged that it will be odd for the DFP not to have returned to its former home, adding that, �it would have seem like we were just finding an excuse to leave but the issue of whether we would have merged if NDC was in opposition is neither here nor there�. He also reiterated that the DFP, NDC merger has nothing to do with the diminishing of the Rawlings factor in the NDC, stressing that, �Rawlings is not the only person responsible for what happened in the past�. �Jerry Rawlings is still quite influential in the NDC even though he may have lost some shine in the party but he is a potent in the NDC,� he said.