Politics of Tuesday, 20 April 2021

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Conversations about NDC flagbearer ‘irrelevant’ – Benjamin Kunbuor

Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, a leading member of the National Democratic Congress Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, a leading member of the National Democratic Congress

Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, a leading member of the National Democratic Congress believes efforts to unite all factions of the party and present a one front for the 2024 elections is being thwarted by conversations about the choice of flagbearer for the 2024 elections.

According to him, while some members of the party are working to mend the divisions in the party and create a formidable party, some detractors are destroying their gains with talks about who leads the party in 2024.

He noted that it is ‘irrelevant’ for anyone to raise a topic that could cause challenges for the party, stressing that some bottlenecks ought to be removed before the party can present a competent person to Ghanaians.

“And I said that conversation is not opportune, it is irrelevant, it is an invention of a problem for the party which they might not have immediate answers to. But that issue of who becomes the flag bearer is contingent on a number of many specific issues which needs to be addressed so that any flag bearer’s position becomes relevant,” he stressed.

“Who has raised the possible question of a contest for a flagbearer? Nobody! why is it important and why are you thinking that you are helping anybody…why do you jump when nobody has pushed you. For all you know you will get to the flag bearer contest and there might be no contest,” he said.

In the past few weeks, there have been accusations and counter-accusations from members of the NDC. Sammy Gyamfi, the party’s Communication Officer clashed with the leadership of the Minority in Parliament and Alban Bagbin over the approval of some ministerial nominees by President Akufo-Addo.

Koku Anyidoho and Allotey Jacobs have been suspended and fired respectively from the party amid very acrimonious circumstances.

But Dr Kumbuor is of the view that the party is not at the crossroads as some people have observed.

He admits that there is a challenge facing the party but is surmountable. “We are really not at a crossroads, but we are at a point in which the roads are likely to cross, and we want to avoid a situation of us getting into a crossroad,” he said,