- "People have been saying that why were we meeting at Tema while our party leaders were meeting at Ho, in actual fact we didn’t know our party executives were meeting at Ho… but as cadres, we felt that we need to have some conversation about how best we can strengthen the party to continue to be the party of governance not the party of opposition.”
Antwi-Bosiako Sekyere, a former Eastern Regional minister, has refuted claims suggesting cadres of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) met over the weekend in Tema to consider the choice of a flagbearer for the party ahead of the 2024 election.
Saturday’s meeting by the cadres was held simultaneously with the NDC’s post-election retreat at Ho attended by leadership of the party including former president John Mahama.
Speaking to Asaase News on Tuesday, Sekyere said holding the two meetings concurrently does not suggest a rift within the party.
No disunity
“First and foremost, let me clarify that we did not meet to think about flagbearer because it is absurd to be thinking about flagbearer in 2021 when we are going to election in 2024,” he said on The Asaase Breakfast Show.
“Our party’s constitution stipulates how the flagbearer must be elected. So, clearly it’s in the figment of somebody’s imagination to think that cadres will go and meet and be thinking about flagbearer.”
“The NDC is a mass political organisation, so I don’t think there can be a situation where there can be only one meeting at a time. Meeting can be happening simultaneously all over the country and, to me there is vibrancy.”
Strategising
According to him, the meeting was to help analyse the party’s weaknesses at the branch levels across the country
“The cadres met in Tema last Saturday, our major objective was to analyse and see the strength of our party, especially at our branch level where we think that major actions must be made and we met to strategise and discuss and come out with what must be done to ensure they are strengthened and see how best we can operationalise what we have concretised,” Sekyere said
He added: “People have been saying that why were we meeting at Tema while our party leaders were meeting at Ho, in actual fact we didn’t know our party executives were meeting at Ho… but as cadres, we felt that we need to have some conversation about how best we can strengthen the party to continue to be the party of governance not the party of opposition.”
The opposition NDC has begun moves aimed at reorganising the party following its defeat in the 2020 elections.
It follows the adoption of a roadmap by leadership of the party to reorganise at a three-day retreat by the party at Ho in the Volta Region.
A communique issued by the NDC has directed party executives at the branch and constituency levels to immediately begin holding regular weekly meetings and activate steps for mobilising existing and new members.
“Leadership of the party have also resolved to urgently address the challenges that affected the party in the 2020 general elections, push for electoral reforms and embark on a series of programmes to enhance party unity,” it said.
The weekend retreat was attended by the party’s flagbearer and running mate for the 2020 presidential election, the functional executive committee, representation from the council of elders, Parliamentary caucus leadership, all 16 regional chairmen and secretaries and other leading members of the party.
Fred Dzakpata
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