The General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has revealed that the party’s National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, threatened to resign over a proposal made by former President John Dramani Mahama.
According to Asiedu Nketiah, Mr. Mahama, who was tipped to be the party’s flagbearer for the 2020 elections, proposed that the party hold on making some key appointments until his election as flagbearer.
This, he said, became clear when the current administration of national executives, led by Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, was elected in November 2018.
“Former President Mahama sent Julius Debrah (former chief of staff during Mahama’s administration) to plead with the party leadership not to appoint a director of elections and a director of IT until the party completes its presidential primaries because the flagbearers of the party must have a say on who becomes the director of elections and the director of IT.
“As soon as Julius finished speaking, Ampofo said he considers the submission an offense to him and his authority as the leader of the NDC party,” Asiedu Nketiah said.
“Ampofo said that Mahama could only become leader of the party after the flagbearship elections have been held.
“Until then, he [Ofosu Ampofo] remains the only leader of the party, and so he can do as he pleases as he [Mahama] cannot stop him because he [Mahama] is an ordinary party member of the NDC.
“The position of Ofosu-Ampofo brought about a serious misunderstanding at the meeting. The meeting thus became a point of contention between the Mahama faction and the Ofosu Ampofo faction. I [Asiedu Nketiah] sat down quietly and listened to all that was going on,” Asiedu Nketiah added.
The narration by Asiedu Nketiah is in a leaked audio recording where he was addressing delegates of the NDC as part of his campaign to become NDC chairman.
Asiedu Nketiah revealed in the audio that the national chairman threatened to resign when he was pressured to accept Mr. Mahama’s proposal.
“This saw our 10 regional chairmen seek leave and confer among themselves. They came back with the resolution that the chairman should be advised to reconsider his slippery position because John Mahama will by all means win the primaries, which makes him the presumptive leader.
“The proposition also made sense. He [Mahama] did not say he wanted to come and make the appointment; he was only asking that you hold on until he is elected so the decision can be made collectively.
“But [Ofosu-Ampfo] banged his hand on the table and said he was prepared to resign if he was not allowed to make those appointments as the national chairman,” he narrated.
He added that the national chairman eventually had his way and appointed the director of elections and IT officers.
He goes on to say that the appointments by the national chairman contributed to the loss of the party in the 2020 presidential elections.
Asiedu Nketiah is challenging Ofosu Ampofo’s reelection bid in a contest that will be decided at the party’s national executive election, to be held on Saturday, December 17, 2022.