The spokesperson for former president Jerry John Rawlings has affirmed that there is factionalism in the ruling National Democratic Party (NDC). Speaking on XFM 95.1, an Accra based private radio station; Kofi Adams said factionalism cannot be done away with in any political organization.

He was answering a question posed by XFM’s morning show host, Emefa Apawu on whether really there were the Rawlings and the Mills factions in the NDC like purported.

However Mr Adams was quick to add that factionalism should not contribute to the break-up of the party, but rather, it must be harnessed to the advantage of the party.

Based on their utterances, many big wigs of the party have been branded as belonging to either side of the divide often with people perceived to belong to the camp of the Former president being described as the enemies within. But Mr Adams cautions that such perceptions rather see to the down fall of the party. He called on party members to welcome the differing views of every member for a stronger NDC. “These factions can be used positively; they must not be used to destroy the organization”.

Kofi Adams also wondered why people some even within the party will tout the founder as working to the disadvantage of the party in government. The former president’s criticisms of President John Mills style of governance has not gone down well with some party cohorts who feel that the president should be given the upper hand to rule. But Mr Adams said as founder of the party, Mr Rawlings would be the last person to be an enemy, having worked so hard to bring the party back to power. “I don’t think people who associate with the founder of the party are enemies of this government”, Mr Adams said, challenging if any party leader could match up to the credentials of the founder. “Call any of our regional executive members, and if they will want to be truthful, that when they were running campaigns in terms of the presence of national leaderships in their regions, if they were marking the amount of time spent campaigning, whether any national officer can match what the former president did,” Kofi Adams retorted.

He expressed his appreciation to those he described as “the young men out there who still see and identify with the founder of the party and do not see themselves as enemies of the NDC.”

Abena Asiedua Tenkorang, Xfm 95.1, Accra, Ghana