Come – back plea to Rawlings
By: Issah Alhassan, Kumasi
As uncertainties continue to surround the future of the former President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife over their role in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), a group, made up of youth activists and cadres within the party, has called on the former first family to reconsider their stance and stay with the party.
The youth group, calling themselves Umbrella Unit for Action and Loyalty (UUFA) and Cadres of 31st December Revolution, with membership from across the country, say any attempt by the founder and his wife to quit the NDC and form a new political movement would be a betrayal of an empire they had sweated and toiled to build over the years.
They have, therefore, called on President Mills, the National Executive Council, and elders of the ruling party to, as a matter of urgency, take steps to bridge the differences between the party and the founder, in order to build a formidable force towards the December 7 elections.
Addressing a news conference in Kumasi on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the joint group, Enoch Amoako-Nsiah, stated that they had observed with regret and sorrow the unfolding developments within the NDC, and the seemingly apathetic attitude on the part of the leadership of the party to resolve the impasse.
According to them, the recent rumours doing the rounds that the former president and his wife intend to form a new political movement to contest in the upcoming elections, could be the last straw that may break the camel’s back, and must therefore, not be allowed to materialise.
The group observed that though they do not doubt the commitment of the former president to the success of the NDC, they were of the conviction that the rumour, if it turns out to be true, would be the most embarrassing development to happen to the NDC and Ghana’s political history.
They pointed further to speculations that the former first family intends to employ the services of cadres and footsoldiers to amass support towards the formation of the new party.
The group, however, stressed that such a move would not materialise, because cadres within the party were solidly behind the president and the NDC family.
“Rumours circulating, suggest that our founder and his wife are planning to form a new party to be launched in [the] Volta Region very soon. We also learnt that they intend to use us (cadres) and footsoldiers, whose sweat and toil helped to form and sustain the NDC party,” they alleged.
They further noted: “It was the collective efforts of all forward-looking Ghanaians who came together to bring the NDC into being, and worked assiduously to ensure victory in previous and current elections; it is our conviction that such collective efforts of all faithful, regardless of position, rank, religious and tribal affiliations, should sustain and guarantee victory for the party in December 2012.”
The group indicated that it was their hope that the founder and his wife would take a second look at their position, and continue to have the same trust and confidence in President Mills now, as it was in 1999, when the founder made the famous ‘Swedru Declaration’.
“We believe that Prof. John Evans Atta Mills has shown beyond all reasonable doubt that he is a man of conviction and fortitude, who should be supported to win a second term as president of Ghana. As leader of the NDC, he deserves unquestionable loyalty and unflinching support,” they noted, and called on all ministers, executives and footsoldiers to renew their commitment to the good cause of the party, and help ensure a resounding victory, come December 7.
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