..as NDC NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE POSITION ... To pave way for his candidature
PROFESSOR John Evans Atta-Mills, former Vice-President and NDC flagbearer in the 2000 Presidential elections, has resigned his membership of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NDC with effect from last Thursday. In a letter dated September 5, 2002, and addressed to the General Secretary of the Party, Prof. Atta-Mills referred to a recent decision of the NEC of the NDC requiring that members of the NEC of the Party who are potential candidates for flagbearership of the Party should resign their membership of the NEC at least three months to the National Congress at which the flagbearer will be elected.
Former Vice-President Atta-Mills is a member of the NEC by virtue of Article 23(1)(e) of the amended Constitution of the Party, which provides that Past Presidents or Past Vice Presidents of the Republic who are members of the Party are members of the NEC. Regulation 2(b) of the "Regulations for the Election of NDC Presidential Candidates" also provides that "any member of the NEC of the Party who intends to contest the Presidential candidate. Saturday, September 7, 2002, was therefore the last day for any NEC member wishing to contest the Presidential candidature to have resigned his position.
This puts paid to all the rumours about the possibility of the National Chairman, Dr Obed Asamoah, contesting for the flagbearership since he is not known to have resigned from his position as National Chairman as at September 7, 2002. Professor Mills' resignation from the NEC, however, is the strongest indication yet that he will be announcing his candidature any time now.
Reports reaching the Ghana Palaver at the time of going to press indicate that the former Presidential Advisor on Governmental Affairs, Alhaji Idirissu Mahama, has also join the NDC Presidential Candidate race by also resigning his National Executive Council position.
