An aspirant in the up-coming Regional Delegates’ Congress of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has condemned as distasteful, the phenomenon whereby aspirants for the party’s executive positions form alliances and teams, with the view of riding on the successes of others to win elections.
Mr. Emmanuel Gordon, a Mathematics Tutor at the Holy Child Teacher Training College in the Western Region, who is vying for the Deputy Regional Secretary slot, therefore urged delegates to vote for aspirants with track records and competencies, to lead the party to victory in 2O16.
Mr. Gordon who holds a Master’s Degree in Teacher Education from the University of Cape Coast, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Fijai that teachers have always been excellent scribes, in view of the nature of their profession, and said he would therefore put his experience and competence to bear on the work when given the nod.
“You should vote meritoriously, based on individual merits and abilities, and not because someone is in the camp of a popular politician”, he advised.
He described himself as a founding member of the party in the Sekondi Constituency, and said at a time when people did not want to identify themselves with the party because it was an upshoot of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), he put his chest out and formed many branches and wards within the Constituency.
“I, together with party gurus in the Sekondi Constituency like Nana Banyin Mills, Nana Bartels and Papa Eshun, established party branches when people felt uncomfortable identifying themselves with the NDC in early199Os.”
Mr. Gordon, who is currently the Patron of the Tertiary Education Network (TEIN) of the NDC at the College, has held various positions in the party, including President of TEIN at the University of Cape Coast in 1996 and Sekondi Constituency Secretary from 1998-2OO2.
Asked whether being a teacher and a politician puts him in a conflict of interest situation he said he never combines teaching with politics, since that will contravene the code of ethics of the teaching profession.
He condemned any act of corruption by either politicians or public servants, and stressed the need for people put in charge of state resources, to utilize them judiciously to better the lot of Ghanaians.
“Anyone found culpable of financial malfeasance must be made to face the full rigorous of the law to serve as deterrent to others”.