By Margaret Jackson

November 21, 2012

With 16-days to go before the first ballot is cast, the tape saga between Pastor Mensa Otabil and the NDC continues to receive daily headlines with different people and groups giving different interpretations.

As a result, the NPP is deliberately pitching the church against the NDC with the view to turning the Christendom against the NDC come election day. This situation is also becoming a big distraction to the NDC as it sells its achievements to voters in the last weeks of the 2012 campaign.

Pastor Mensa Otabil gave series of sermons in which he commented on issues that bothers on national development mainly education. Even though Pastor Otabil claims he made those comments 10 years ago and that he owns his voice and the words that goes with it, those comments were relevant in this year’s political debate which led a group sympathetic to the NDC to seize on it.

The aftermath was the inflammatory speech given by Pastor Otabil a week ago. Ghanaians from all walks of life and different religious and political persuasions heard Pastor Otabil speak during the press conference and the strong words that he used.

All those who heard the sermons of Pastor Otabil and also tuned in to his press conference can form their own opinions. The difference was clear, therefore, there is no need for the NDC to belabour itself and continue to jab Pastor Otabil.

The NDC must not waste precious time of covering every blade during the final days of the electioneering campaign and make Pastor Otabil the issue. Pastor Otabil is not running for office, its Akufo-Addo, therefore, he should be the target.

The issue has clearly sent the strongest signals to Ghanaians to be very careful of what they hear from their pastors during church services. What the group running the advertisements did was to play the tapes and let voters be the judges. The work of the group is done, and it’s therefore time for the NDC to move on.

I am making a personal appeal to all NDC family members that we need to go back to our main target: Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and ensure that he does not win the presidency. We have a whole lot of work to do.

The District Chief Executives (DCEs) who have decided to fold their arms and not help the parliamentary candidates are doing themselves a big disservice. Their jobs are on the line. If Akufo-Addo wins, all the DCEs will be out of job before he is even sworn into office.

Therefore, the NDC family should leave all the little squabbles behind and help in every way possible for the party to coast to victory. Pastor Otabil will still have his church if the NDC wins or not, so we should concentrate on the things that will help us to win handsomely.

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