A top member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare-Otchere Darko, has said the decision by former President John Dramani Mahama to run for President again will affect the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

According to the close confidante of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Mr Mahama has done a “great disservice” to the NDC for failing to step aside to allowing another candidate to be groomed for the presidential slot.

“When he was voted out of power in 2016 when the state of affairs was almost on its knees, he could have done better service to the NDC by helping to groom a successor.

“Because right now, imagine he loses the election – which is easy to imagine – in December 2020. In 2024, by then Akufo-Addo would have completed his eight years term, so there will be a new candidate for NPP but who will the NDC have groomed someone by then?” he quizzed.

Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko made the comments on a current affairs programme on Asempa FM on Friday, August 28, 2020.

The former director of the pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) think tank, Danquah Institute, also said the opposition NDC’s inability to select a new candidate other than Mr Mahama will affect the party fortunes since it takes time to groom a person to up the challenge for the top job of Presidency.

“I think it is like the NPP boycotting the 1992 elections, it delayed whatever opportunities we had for at least four more years. So maybe the NDC boycotting the opportunity to get a new candidate to then sell the candidate because sometimes it takes a while to sell the candidate, I am looking at the history of the fourth republic,” he said.

He also criticised the four-year term of John Mahama, describing it as poor.