Ablakwa's appointment cost NDC – Bagbin

National Democratic Congress (NDC) flag bearer-hopeful, Alban Bagbin, has said the appointment of Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa as a Deputy Education Minister in-charge of Tertiary, is one of the many reasons the party lost the 2016 election.

Speaking to delegates in the Volta Region, Mr. Bagbin said he believed although Mr Ablakwa is an intelligent young man, his appointment was misplaced.

He said: “We had very good material in our last government but the placement was wrong. Look at my son-in-law Ablakwa; brilliant handsome young man but he had problems before he got his certificate at Legon. You recall they almost rusticated him.

“After he’s done national service in Parliament and joined politics, he was made a deputy Minister for Education in Charge of Tertiary. [So for] the lecturers, what are you telling them? Some of these decisions affected us a lot”.

Mr Bagbin is positioning himself to be elected as the next flag bearer of the party.

He is contesting against former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Sylvester Mensah; Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbah, a former Trade and Industry Minister; former Vice-Chancellor of the University for Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Prof. Joshua Alabi; Cape Coast South MP, Kweku Ricketts-Hagan; private legal practitioner Elikplim Agbemava and handyman Stephen Atubiga.

Ex-president John Dramani Mahama is yet to declare his intention for a comeback.

The NDC has slated 7 December 2018, for the election of its flagbearer for the 2020 presidential election.