Thinking that they had ingeniously hatched the most watertight scheme to shield John Mahama from being contested in the party's upcoming presidential race, the Ofosu Ampofoh/Asiedu Nketia-led NEC announced a staggering filing fee of GHC420,000.

The tumultuous agitations that greeted that announced figure should have informed them to review the fee downwards, but for obvious reasons, a rather recalcitrant posturing was exhibited by the NEC.

They vowed never to alter the amount to be paid as filing fee as that would adversely impact on their organization of the presidential primaries. They cited GHC8 million as the quantum of money estimated for the elections.

Bagbin and his friends consequently went to the founder of the party and made sure that tears of frustration streamed out of their eyes, an event that fueled the need to extend an invitation to the NEC.

The Rawlings-led Council of Elders has forced the recalcitrant leadership of the party to reduce that astronomical figure of GHC420,000 to GHC300,000.

What this means is that they could have reduced the fee without the Council of Elders forcing them to do so. It also goes to reinforce the point that the exorbitant filing fee was introduced as a standing block to many of the aspirants so that Mahama would scale through unscathed.

Though their evil machinations might have suffered a mild stroke, this intervention is too weak to encroach upon their ultimate agenda of projecting Mahama to the top.



If I were Bagbin, Spio and the others, I would not jump into the air in ecstasy over this 'victory' but would rather resign to the fate that the winner has been predetermined by the NEC and that person happens to be their former boss, John Mahama.

The GHC100.000 reduction is a drop in the ocean since it still wages a war against their social democratic ideological orientation.

The NDC is in turmoil and those who can salvage it from the brink of extinction are the very ones being hounded by Mahama and his henchmen.