The Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has said the noises coming from the largest opposition front-NDC, is a ploy by certain faceless individuals who are bent on knocking former President Mahama out, even before the contest of the Presidential Candidate position is open in the party.

“The fear of a possible Mahama candidature is also part…, Pratt said on Radio Gold’s Alhaji and Alhaji programme Saturday.

The Kwesi Botcwhay committee is expected to conduct hearing among the rank and file of the party, as well as solicit for views from members of the party across the country for review and restructure itself after the NDC’s worst defeat in history.

But even before the dust settles on the NDC, some national executives and party members have taken to the media with vicious attacks deepening the cracks within the party.

The former President, who was the 2016 Presidential Candidate of the NDC has been at the centre of the controversy, leading to a divided opinion as to whether it will even yield any good results allowing Mahama to lead the party again in 2020 elections.

But from his standpoint, Pratt said Mahama appears a formidable competitor among those likely to be lacing their boot to stage in the Presidential candidate race, hence there is an underhand dealings by such people to frustrate Mahama to leave the contest for them.

“So far there is only one person amongst fifteen or more who has had the courage to come publicly and say that I want to contest for President. All of them are setting up offices, they are campaigning, they are building up their war chest and so on to come and contest for Presidency. But if you put a microphone infront of them, all of them will say that ooh, this is not the time for the contest of leadership, this is the time to rebuild the party and none of them is working to build any party anywhere. Now they tell you that this is not the time for contest of leadership ooh, and yet they are setting up campaign offices, and yet they are campaigning. What level of dishonesty is this? Plain face dishonesty, chicanery.That is what is happening”

“Because all of this people want to contest and become Presidential candidate, and they know, in their own heart, the fact that perhaps their most formidable competitor would be the former President, there is a strategy to knock him out first to create the conditions which would make him run away from the contest. they will be very happy, if former President Mahama will come to say that I’m no longer interested. They think that the part would be opened wider for them. So all of this, a substantial part of this is to push Mahama out of the contest, even as he hasn’t declared his intention of contesting."