Alban Bagbin must go unopposed – NDC organisers

Some organisers of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) are making a special request to the echelon of the party to allow Mr Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin to go unopposed in the party’s approaching flagbearership race.

“So many people in the party feel Hon. Bagbin is the best person to lead us into 2020 and the reasons are pretty clear: he is the exact contrast to former President John Mahama in the matter of marketability and yet retains the Northern extraction that will satisfy the need to have a Northerner complete an eight-year mandate,” he said.

Mr Evans Amarh, GHAPOHA branch Organiser of NDC who was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency enumerated reasons for his call and proposal that the party even set aside the constitutional requirement for a Presidential primary.

Mr Amarh said that in 2020, corruption would be an overriding campaign theme as the NPP government was also embroiled in some corruption allegations.

He said former President Mahama’s administration also had issues with corruption as well and in 2020 therefore, Ghanaian voters would be forced to choose between two allegedly corrupt candidates if the NDC presents former President Mahama.

“However, if we present Hon. Bagbin who is well known to be incorruptible, voters would be presented with a clear choice,” Mr. Amarh said.

Aside riding on a stern reputation as an incorruptible politician, Mr Bagbin who has been in Parliament since 1993 is also respected by members of both political divides in Ghana for his experience and wisdom.

He is currently the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and had served as both Minority and Majority Leader on his way to that lofty height.

Along the line, he also served in various Ministerial capacities, including helmsman at the Health Ministry under President Mills.

“Another thing that I think is a good selling point for Hon. Bagbin is the fact that he has an active Constituency, Nadowli/Kaleo and will therefore easily canvas the grassroots starting from there,” Mr. Amarh said.

He added, “The fact that Nadowli/Kaleo has re-elected Hon. Bagbin into Parliament since 1992 is a clear testament to his popular image.”

Mr Bright Nukpeta, Youth Organiser of ‘U’ down branch of the NDC, also said it made sense to allow Mr Bagbin to go unopposed as he was the best of all the aspirants, “during the campaign prior to the last general election, it became difficult convincing people to vote for the NDC, we did not have it easy with teachers, nurses and Ghanaian workers in general because of dislike for Ex-President Mahama’s utterances”

Mr Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, a Catholic and lawyer from Sombo, already enjoys support among elders and foundation members of the NDC, with some cadres openly supporting his bid to lead the party into 2020.

This cordiality with the party fathers has since also constituted a selling point for him as against other candidates.

“Following the NDC’s massive defeat in 2016, it was realised that as many as some one million supporters and grassroots members of the NDC had refused to vote for President Mahama who has been faulted for abandoning his own party.