Mahama takes his 'Thank You Tour' to NDC chapters in the diaspora

After touring all five regions in the North, as part of his nationwide Thank You Tours, former president John Dramani Mahama turned his attention to the NDC Diaspora Chapters.

On Friday, 27th August 2021, he held a virtual session of his Thank You Tour with NDC members living across various continents. The Zoom meeting was well attended by enthusiastic NDC participants consisting of executives and members of the different Chapters.

Also in attendance were the top echelons of the party, former running mate, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman, national chairman, Hon. Ofosu Ampofo, deputy secretaries of the party, Peter Otokuno, and Barbara Asamoah, director of the international relations of the party, Hon. Alex Segbefia and other party functionaries.

In his address to the NDC diaspora chapters, former president Mahama thanked them for their contributions and personal sacrifices made to the party during the 2020 general elections. He said the party had taken steps to organize retreats at both national and regional levels to do a post-mortem on what transpired in the 2020 elections and the verdict delivered by the Supreme Court on the presidential election petition.

He also indicated that although the NDC was not declared winner in the 2020 presidential election, the party has made great strides especially in parliament, and produced an NDC Speaker.

This is unprecedented in the history of Ghana. Former president Mahama also informed diaspora chapters that the party will organize an extraordinary congress that will consider constitutional amendments and policy issues.

He also lamented the increasing armed robbery incidences, incessant corruption scandals, economy in shambles, and youth unemployment leading to #Fixthecountrynow demonstrations, making President Akuffo-Addo and his regime very unpopular.

It is a shame that he has been falsely accused by the NPP as the one behind the #Fixthecountrynow demonstrations. He said as he toured the five regions in the North, the people are yearning for a change in government as they believe we won the 2020 elections, and we were arm-twisted after the polls.

He was confident that the future of the NDC in the next general elections is extremely bright. He urged for the unity of purpose within the party instead of breaking up everything and rebuilding.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, on her part, also thanked the Diaspora for their support to the party. She noted that the NDC put its best foot forward in the last 2020 elections, but it did not go in our favour, and self-introspection is being done to identify what went wrong, which will be averted in the future.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang also talked about economic hardships among Ghanaians coupled with high insecurity and corruption scandals under the NPP government. She also urged those in the Diaspora who need to come home to do so and contribute to the country's development. She called on the party to close ranks and prepare for the next elections.

The national chairman was upbeat with the performance of the NDC in the last general elections for garnering over 6 million votes for President Mahama and 137 seats in parliament. He also refuted the claim that the party recruited unqualified agents for the last general elections.

As intimated by President Mahama and Prof. Opoku-Agyeman, Hon. Ampofo said the party would identify all mistakes committed and correct them going forward. He assured the Diaspora that the NDC would not forget them when the party takes over governance come 2024. He equally thanked the diaspora chapters for their vital contributions.

Peter Otokunor, who spoke on behalf of the general secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia elaborated on the NDC proposals for electoral reforms by the E.C. He said the proposals for electoral reforms were written with short, medium, and long-term objectives in mind.

The international relations director of the party, Hon. Segbefia, who moderated this virtual session of the Thank You Tour with former president Mahama and the diaspora chapters, acknowledged the diaspora chapters' enormous contributions and urged them to continue to work hard and mobilize members in their various chapters.

Representatives from participating diaspora chapters asked former president Mahama and other party leaders some questions during the virtual session.

The diaspora chapters left the zoom meeting highly invigorated and gladdened to have adequate time with H.E. former president Mahama. They wished him successful travels for the rest of his Thank You Tours.