The Oti Regional Chairman of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Kwadow Gyapon, has thrown jabs at the personalities seeking to be elected presidential candidates on the ticket of the party.
"You can only be a presidential candidate after being a Member of Parliament or after having served in the position of Minister of State," he said, adding that this is the criteria for qualifying to be elected as flagbearer in the NDC.
According to him, the NDC has a tradition where personalities seeking to lead the party as flagbearers have to go through the mill.
He said one needs to be elected to Parliament or serve in the position of a minister before becoming the presidential candidate of the party.
Mr Gyapon said this on the evening news on Accra 100.5 FM on March 2, 2023.
He said the NDC has a tradition and these traditions must be jealously guarded.
He added that the tradition cannot be frowned on.
He stressed that the party’s tradition has it that if you are a branch executive, you can graduate to become an Assembly member or a constituency executive.
From there you can further graduate to become a Member of Parliament.
He noted that this is an indication that one has gone through the mill and is abreast of the party’s tradition.
He advised the aspirants in the race to go to their hometowns and contest to be elected MPs before attempting to be presidential candidates.
He singled out Ernest Kweku Krobea, a businessman who has also picked forms to contest to go and vie for the parliamentary seat in Asante Mampong and not the presidential slot.