Flashback: We did not lose election 2016, we gave it out – Murtala Mohammed

At a time when members of the National Democratic Congress were squabbling over who was to become the party’s flagbearer ahead of the 2020 general elections, Murtala Mohammed, Member of Parliament for Nantong constituency bemoaned the attitude of the party’s membership.

Murtala Mohammed was of the view that members’ lackadaisical attitude was what made the NDC lose power in 2016.

According to the former Deputy Trade Minister, the sheer arrogance of some NDC members while the party was in power and their reluctance to involve themselves in the party’s campaign lost them power in the last election.

Read below an article on Murtala’s statement published by peacefmonline.com below:

Murtala Mohammed, former Member of Parliament for Nantong constituency has bemoaned the lackadaisical attitude of member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as far as putting the ruling government in check.

He said instead of the opposition NDC criticising the ‘mess being created’ by the Akufo-Addo led government, ‘it is preoccupied with who becomes the next flagbearer’, adding “the earlier we realise that we have a moral duty to salvage this country the better”.

“The sad aspect about the NDC is that instead of us looking at the mess that is being created in this country, we preoccupy ourselves as to who becomes the next flagbearer…when an NPP member has a problem they defend before they find out what he has done; in NDC you find people who would want to moralise…and it was one of the reasons why we lost the election…the earlier we start calling a spade a spade the better” he added.

Reflecting on the party’s defeat in the 2016 elections, Murtala who was the former Deputy Trade Minister said had the NDC not become complacent, the NPP would not have come to power.

Speaking during a panel discussion on Radio Gold's Alhaji and Alhaji, Murtala Mohammed said: “…some of us became so arrogant that we felt President Mahama was so popular that the NDC will win and therefore we don’t need the support of anybody; you see where we are? We never lost the elections, we gave it out…”