After going round all five regions in the Northern part of Ghana, as part of his nationwide Thank You Tour, former President John Dramani Mahama has turned his attention to the NDC Diaspora Chapters.
On Friday, August 27, 2021, the former President held a virtual session of his Thank You Tour with members of the NDC living across various continents. The well attended Zoom meeting had participants including executives and members of the party from different Chapters.
Also in attendance were the top echelons of the Party, former running mate, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku- Agyeman, National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, Deputy secretaries of the Party, Peter Otokunor and Barbara Asamoah, Director of International Relations, Hon. Alex Segbefia and other top party functionaries.
In his address to the NDC Diaspora Chapters, former President Mahama thanked them for their contributions and personal sacrifices to the Party during the 2020 general elections. He said the Party had taken steps to organise retreats at both national and regional levels to do post-mortems on what transpired during the 2020 elections and the verdict delivered by the Supreme Court on the presidential election petition.
He indicated that although the NDC was not declared winners in the 2020 presidential election, the Party has made great strides especially in parliament and produced an NDC Speaker. “This is unprecedented in the history of Ghana,” he stated.
Former President Mahama also informed the diaspora chapters that the Party will soon organise an extraordinary congress which will consider constitutional amendments and issues of policy. He also lamented the increasing armed robbery incidences, incessant corruption scandals, the economy in shambles, and youth unemployment leading to #Fixthecountrynow demonstrations, and making President Akufo-Addo and his regime very unpopular.
He described as shameful the accusation of corruption leveled against him by the NPP, and also the false talks that he is the one behind the #Fixthecountrynow demonstrations. He said as he toured the five regions in the North, the people are yearning for a change in government as they believe the NDC won the 2020 elections, but were arm-twisted after the polls.
The former president was confident that the future of the NDC in the next general elections would be extremely bright. He urged for unity of purpose within the Party instead of breaking up everything and rebuilding.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, on her part, also thanked the Diaspora for their support to the Party. She noted that the NDC put its best foot forward in the last 2020 elections, though it did not go in the party’s favour. She said a self-introspection is being done to identify what went wrong, so as to avert it in the near future.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang also talked about economic hardships among Ghanaians coupled with high insecurity and corruption scandals under the NPP government. She urged those in the Diaspora who need to come home to do so and contribute to the country’s development. She called on the Party to close ranks and prepare for the next elections.
The National Chairman was upbeat about the performance of the NDC in the last general elections for garnering over 6 million votes for President Mahama and 137 seats in parliament. He also refuted the claim that the Party recruited unqualified agents for the last general elections.
As intimated by President Mahama and Prof. Opoku-Agyeman, Ofosu Ampofo said the Party would identify all mistakes committed and correct them going forward. He assured the Diaspora that the NDC would not forget them when the Party takes over governance come 2024. He equally thanked the diaspora chapters for their vital contributions.
Peter Otokuno, who spoke on behalf of the general secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia elaborated on the NDC’s proposals for electoral reforms to the Electoral Commission. He said the proposals for electoral reforms were written with short, medium, and long-term objectives in mind.
The Director of International Relations for the NDC, Alex Segbefia, who moderated the virtual session of the Thank You Tour with former President Mahama and the Diaspora Chapters, acknowledged the enormous contributions of the Chapters, and urged them to continue to work hard and mobilise members in their various chapters.
Representatives from participating Diaspora Chapters asked former President Mahama and other party leaders some questions during the virtual session.
Members of the Diaspora Chapters left the zoom meeting highly revitalized and gladdened to have adequate time with the former President Mahama. They wished him successful travels during the rest of his Thank You Tours.
By NDC Germany Dachverband e.V