NDC Chairmanship race: Block contest between Ofosu Ampofo and Asiedu Nketia – Yaw Boateng Gyan to Council of Elders

A former National Organizer of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Yaw Boateng Gyan, has impressed the council of elders of the party to halt a possible contest between General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia and the National Chairman Samuel Ofosu Ampofo.

In his view, the contest between the two will sharply divide the party ahead of the crucial 2024 elections. However, he argues that the party cannot afford to allow cracks between the two because they both command a massive following in the party.

“We will need the two in the party going into the 2024 elections, and just as we did for the first time in 1992 in Cape Coast where the party elected national officers based on consensus, same can be done with the two.”

Mr Asiedu Nketia has vowed not to seek re-election as General Secretary in the upcoming December 17, 2022, National executive executions, paving the way for other contenders, including Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Fifi Kwetey and Deputy General Secretary, Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor amongst others to declare their interest for the seat.

But Mr Aseidu Nketia, however, is said to be leaving his options wide open as he can either retire from active party work or seek elections within the party aside from his current position. Sources within the party say he is thus eyeing the National Chairmanship slot.

This Yaw Boateng Gyan believes will likely jeopardize the party’s chances in the 2024 elections. Therefore, he wants the National Council of Elders to summon the two and let them appreciate how their decision to contest each other will threaten their chances.

“We are in the party and we know that a lot of things happen so if we fail to put down proper measures things will go bad for us. For example, the 2014 national executive elections held at the Kumasi Sports stadium hugely contributed to our defeat in 2016. This is so because of how some candidates were treated in that elections so their followers refused to vote in the national elections out of anger. And that single decision we took (in 2014) is the reason we are still in opposition. My followers and that of the defeated chairman Kwabena Agyei were badly hurt. Some of them vowed not to vote in the national elections because of how we were treated and indeed did not vote which is why we are in opposition till date,” he told Kwesi Parker-Wilson, the host of the news analysis show ‘Ghana Te Sen’ on Kumasi-based Oyerepa FM.

“We shouldn’t think that 2024 is a done deal for us. We must work and ensure we remove every obstacle in our way. If we joke about this, it will affect us. If Aseidu Nketia says he won’t contest as the General Secretary again, let’s talk to him and see where he can apply his expertise. So for the peace and development of the party, the two should be summoned to ensure a middle ground for them,” he added.