Group gives 2 weeks ultimatum to NDC Chairman

A National Democracy Congress group dubbed, NDC Activists For Unity At All Cost (NDC AFUAC) is calling for a permanent solution to the long standing feud between some leading members of the NDC.

The group, in a press statement copied to Xfm 95.1 stated that the much-needed unity is essential if the NDC will win the December elections.

To this end, it is calling for physical meetings between President John Mills, former President John Rawlings, former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings and all the major players as a means to tackle the pending issues, adding, ³even if that will come with all the tension in the world- it will bring a solution².

³We call on Dr. Kwabena Agyei who recently wrote to the president to demand such a meeting as we have mentioned, to team up with others and take a BOLD decision to immediately initiate moves to get all who matter to sit down on a round table. As a matter of urgency, the NDC party chairman must within an ultimatum of two weeks which will elapse on Thursday, June 14th 2012 succeed with this first but most crucial step in the long process of achieving unity within the NDC².

Below is the full text of the statement:

NDC Activists For Unity At All Cost (NDC AFUAC)

We Want Unity At All Cost Within The NDC

Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, there comes a time in a man¹s life when he has to look at himself in a mirror and see how far he has grown or changed thus far. Some of us have reached such a point where we have taken a hard look at ourselves, and have concluded that we must pursue the cause no one else is prepared to pursue. Consider this as a clarion call by the generality of the youth of this country whose political philosophy of social democracy and egalitarianism has gotten them aligned to the NDC rather than any other political tradition in this country.

Without a doubt in our minds, there is an open feud in our party that has been allowed to fester for a very long time. It has almost become an insurmountable one in the minds of some people.

Positions taken in this open feud by both sides of the divide have been entrenched rather to the detriment of a solution, which we all yearn for.

In the past couple of months, and especially these past few weeks, some of us have been inundated with calls from young people of the ruling NDC from across the length and breadth of the country, and they only ask for one thing- Unity within the NDC at all cost.

We recognize that different people will perceive us differently for our stands on these crises that have engulfed the NDC. However, we speak for a silent majority of NDC activists who believe that the current happenings within and among the NDC power players has reached the very level of pettiness ­ pettiness that has the potential to cause the dissolution of the political bands that hold all of us together as NDC members. We on our part will not sit down to witness such dissolution of the values, principles, ideals and objectives that form the foundation of the NDC party.

We shall continue to appeal to the elders of the NDC party to listen to the true voices of the party- the voices that are calling for an urgent resolution and ironing out of political and personal differences between H.E President Mills and his surrogates on one hand, and NDC founder and former president H.E Flt. Lt. J J Rawlings, former first lady NANA KONADU AGYEMAN ­ RAWLINGS and their staunch supporters on the other hand.

We do not believe that insults and inciting language coming from either side of the divide through the mass media is a way forward. Rather What we believe to be a sure way to attain unity at all cost within the NDC in a bid to win the 2012 elections will be; for some senior members of the party to act with a sense of urgency in calling for physical meetings between President Mills, President Rawlings, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings and all the major players- even if that will come with all the tension in the world- it will bring a solution. Whatever issues are keeping the NDC divided can never be resolved by a widening physical space or gap between the leaders. We the NDC activists for Unity at all cost will not just end our quest to demand the restoration of unity within the NDC with a statement. We shall move it from here to a different level. We call on all young people of the NDC who are facing anxiety and moral dilemma over the lack of unity and the dire political consequences thereof, to join us to demand true leadership from our elders in the party.

We call on Dr. Kwabena Agyei who recently wrote to the president to demand such a meeting as we have mentioned, to team up with others and take a BOLD decision to immediately initiate moves to get all who matter to sit down on a round table. As a matter of urgency, the NDC party chairman must within an ultimatum of two weeks which will elapse on Thursday, June 14th 2012 succeed with this first but most crucial step in the long process of achieving unity within the NDC. Even as we anticipate a meeting within this ultimatum given to the elders, we plan next to organize a political durbar by June 28th 2012 that will bring all the major players as well as the mass supporters within the party under one umbrella with the hope of advancing this unity agenda.

What we the young activists of the NDC want at all cost is to have the political bands of the NDC totally unbroken ­ not even if we have to continue to debate and disagree on the approach to the application and adherence to our party values and ideals- should we attempt to break our political bands as a political party representing the masses and ordinary people of Ghana.

We must never commit political suicide.

We stand for unity within the NDC at all cost. Let¹s move beyond the arguments of who is wrong and who is right. We all have made a whole lot of such arguments already and succinctly too, in the past three years. We have taken our various stands at some point. Now is the time to move beyond our entrenched positions and face one common enemy ­ the opposition NPP. We in the NDC cannot continue to give the NPP a laugh.

We shall appeal for support from all who agree with our argument in practically getting the elders to sit down to seek unity with a sense of urgency. We shall soon mass up in our numbers on the streets and in the offices and homes of the party elders and power players involved to signify our resolve to see our elders act decisively.

Long Live the Founder of the NDC H.E Former president Rawlings

Long Live the President and Leader of the party H.E President Mills

Long Live the former first Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman -Rawlings

Signed: Sidii Abubakar Musah