Deputy Communication Director of the New Patriotic Party has admitted Former President Rawlings was a major pain to the NPP prior to the 2008 elections.

Sammy Awuku, speaking on Xfm¹s big bite Monday, 19th March 2012 affirmed that the founder of the NDC played a significant role that brought the NDC back to power, wondering why some leading members of the party will shield him (Rawlings) to the background now that the party has won power.

³Rawlings played a significant role in the NDC in 2008. I am surprised that today you have the regional chairman of the NDC Say that Rawlings did not take any vote out. You take away Rawlings and bring on board Obed Ansamoah and Boagye Gyan who might have just about three or four votes. These people are not waking up to the reality², he said.

Sammy Awuku¹s comments come on the heels of the first NDC rally without the founder of the party. There have been many interpretations to the founder¹s absence, but to Sammy Awuku, former President Rawlings decided ³to turn his back on the greedy bastards; he decided to turn his back on the sycophants and on people who engage in gargantuan crimes to take a short rest², adding, ³though he was such a pain to us, I think I have come to respect him for some of his principles².

According to him, it will be a major political error if the former President is excluded in the NDC¹s campaign towards election 2012.

³Anybody who doubts me should just get hold of the African Election; watch the rallies that Rawlings attended; how he charged the crowd He always charged the crowd for Prof Mills to come and talk. So President Mills, he was being treated like a feeding bottle politician. President Rawlings will do all the ground work for him, all the charges for him; his is to just show his face, wave his hands and string one or two sentences together and Rawlings will carry on from there².

On the NDC¹s rally, Sammy Awuku said it comes no where near that of the NPP held a couple of weeks ago, accusing the ruling party of busing the people to the rally ground.

³Ours was an enthusiastic crowd², he said, ³a charged crowd. The NDC had a rented crowd. As compared to the NPP¹s rally, this was no match. Most of the people were not in NDC t-shirts. Somewhere in Tudu and Agbogboloshie, they were sharing 10 cedi per person to go and board the bus².

Of the two rallies, he was convinced the NPP has had a good jump as far as the December elections were concerned since according to him, the NDC¹s lacked momentum.

³That was the beginning of the NDC¹s long struggle to election 2012. If you start on the slow pace and you don¹t have momentum on your side; now momentum is on the side of the opposition. So the government will now have to catch up. And if you are in government and you are on the back footing, playing defensive while the opposition is attacking, it is like playing Brazil against a third division side in Ghana. In a campaign, momentum is crucial; the moment you lose momentum, you are losing the election².

³So popularity should not dip; it should accelerate. Even on the day, the person who paved way for the President was a comedian? When we are talking serious national issues; serious issues of our economy etc? and the person to pave way for the President is a renowned joker and a friend of the President who is satisfied and doesn¹t see anything wrong?²

Xfm 95.1/ Accra/ Ghana