Dr. Gilbert Ayine Akolgo, a lecturer at the University of Energy and Natural Resource has underlined the importance of two personalities to the opposition National Democratic Congress' push to return to power come 2024.
According to him, former President John Dramani Mahama and current General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia are the two officials who need to be present and working to guarantee success in the polls.
In an article written and copied to MyNewsGh.com, Dr. Ayine wrote: “There are some key personalities who must continue to be at the top of the organizational structure of the NDC if the party wants to wrestle power from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in December 2024.
"These people are not only indispensable, they must hold key positions and be seen at the frontline of the NDC in the 2024 onslaught against the NPP. The first person on the list is H. E. John Dramani Mahama and the second person is Hon. Johnson Asiedu Nketia. This pair are the only constant visible front liners of the NDC from 2008 till date.”
Adding that: “The General, as he is affectionately called has been through the mill as far as Ghanaian politics is concerned, serving as a Member of Parliament for twelve good years and as the general secretary of the NDC for over sixteen years.
"The good General has therefore become very experienced in a political party and elections management. Mr. Asiedu Nketia does not shy away from making his expertise available to the NDC at all times”.
He stressed that the wealth of experience that Asiedu Nketia brings to the NDC has seen him in leadership since 2008 winning two elections for the party.
Mahama on the other hand has been the leader of the party since 2012 when he assumed the presidency through to 2017 when he left office. He has since lost two presidential elections and is tipped to run for a third consecutive term as he races to secure his final term in office.
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NDC cannot afford to lose Johnson Asiedu Nketia in 2024.
There are some key personalities who must continue to be at the top of the organizational structure of the NDC if the party wants to wrestle power from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in December 2024. These people are not only indispensable, they must hold key positions and be seen at the frontline of the NDC in the 2024 onslaught against the NPP.
The first person on the list is H. E. John Dramani Mahama and the second person is Hon. Johnson Asiedu Nketia. This pair are the only constant visible front liners of the NDC from 2008 till date.
The General, as he is affectionately called has been through the mill as far as Ghanaian politics is concerned, serving as a Member of Parliament for twelve good years and as the general secretary of the NDC for over sixteen years.
The good General has therefore become very experienced in political party and elections management. Mr. Asiedu Nketia does not shy away from making his expertise available to the NDC at all times.
Data from the 2020 parliamentary election indicates that the magic works of Aseidu Nketia yielded incredible results. The net gains by the NDC in terms of parliamentary seats recaptured were the highest in the region that Aseidu Nketia concentrated his efforts.
Aseidu Nketia with help of key personalities like the Bono Regional Chairman and his executives, Dr. Steven Opuni, and others mapped up strategies and literally broke their backs to make the Bono Region record the highest percentage net gain in the 2020 Parliamentary elections (as shown in Figure 1).
Figure 1: Gains made by the NDC in the 2020 Election
The same data shows that some executives who are currently serving at the top lacked the fortitude to make their influence helpful to the NDC in the election.
In fact, some of these executives could only manage abysmal single digit percentage net gains in their regions of origins. These results were particularly not surprising since some of these top guns decided to hide under the cloak of the popularity of H. E. John Dramani Mahama, ever fearful of spreading their own wings independently in search of votes for the NDC.
It therefore presupposes that, Mr. Aseidu Nketia has gained the necessary experience, is willing to avail himself with all the experience, works like a bull for the NDC at the apex of the party’s structure to help maximize the fortunes of the party.
My humble advice to the delegates of the NDC is that, they need to send a signal to all that they are critical thinkers and therefore can distinguish between those who are actually working and those who are pretending to do so.
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Johnson Asiedu Nketia (left) and Mahama