Elect ‘useless team’ and I’ll resign – Gen. Mosquito

General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has threatened to relinquish his post if party delegates vote for executives who are not loyal to the party.

General Mosquito, as he is popularly called, said loyalty should be the watchword as delegates head to congress next month to elect national executives of the ruling party.

Speaking at the campaign launch of the national chairman, Dr Kwabena Adjei, Wednesday, the General Secretary said some of the current executives have shirked their responsibilities at the party headquarters and hardly attend to meetings.

Nketia, who is currently standing unopposed, revealed he will step aside should delegates give the mandate to people he perceives as disloyal to the “cause of the NDC.”

“The next most important thing is loyalty; loyalty to the cause of the NDC. Are you dealing with people who when they lose elections they begin singing with the opposition; dining with the opposition. Are you going to elect leaders who have no problem leaking insider party information to the opposition,” the former legislator warned a section of the party delegates.

“If that is what you are about to do then please, I beg you, even though no one is contesting me don’t take me for granted, at the end of the day I will also have to decide with my family whether I will contest or not and it depends on the people you put in the team, if I know that team will be a useless endeavour I will not waste my time on that,” Gen. Mosquito said without mincing words.

He added: “Let me tell you, the best gauge of a person’s conduct in the future is his conduct in the past. That is why it is important to review the backgrounds of the various candidates and to find out how loyal they have been to the party and that will tell you how loyal they will continue to be with the party moving forward.

“We are facing a very dangerous opposition where our opponents have more control of resources than we do. It is possible for our opponents to even sponsor candidates into our ranks to create the disunity they like so much, so let us watch out. Review the backgrounds of the various candidates and be able to cast a wise vote.

“There is a whole world of difference between operating from party office and operating from Peace FM. So if you are elected to do your work come to the office and do your work and you’ll have time to respond to radio interviews… and if you go and elect leaders who will go to radio stations and when you want to organise meetings they are not available then I’m sorry you can’t win elections. So don’t let us judge people by media appearances.”

He described Dr Adjei as the best person to occupy the national chairman position due to his experience and cordial relationship with his current executives.

“On my way here somebody said, ‘are you going to endorse Dr Kwabena Adjei?’ I said, Dr Kwabena Adjei doesn’t need my endorsement, he is an endorsement in himself, because your records will speak for you. Any other candidate who wants me on his platform at a launching I will be available but I will come with the record I know about that person and then will relate those record… Don’t let us judge people by media appearance. It means more than that to the chairman and the general secretary and the organiser.”

Dr Adjei is contesting the National Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation, Kofi Portuphy, Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, a former General Secretary of NDC and Dan Abodakpi, former Ghana Ambassador to Malaysia and former Member of Parliament for Keta.