Former Vice President, Professor John Evans Atta-Mills seems poised to correct any anomalies that might have militated against his charge for the presidency some two years ago.
The first of the new Mills approach, “The Independent” can confirm, is the choice of Dr Benjamin Kumbour, MP for Lawra Nandom as his new Campaign Manager. That means he has pushed aside the man who many NDC loyalist had tipped for the job, Ekwow Apio-Garbrah, who was the former Publicity Director of the “Mills for President” campaign in the 2000 elections. Dr Kumbour replaces Commodore Steve Opimbeh, former MP for North Dayi, who was the campaign Manager for Prof. Mills in the 2000 elections.
Sleuth investigations by The Independent have revealed that the former Vice President personally preferred the Nandom MP to his former Publicity Director, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, who has all along made clear his intentions to lead the campaign team of the Law Professor in the 2004 campaign.
Mills however had others in mind. One other NDC functionary whose name, this paper gathered, came up for the campaign post at one of the numerous meetings held by the Mills camp at Kuku Hill, Accra, was Rojo Mettle Nunoo, a top NDC operative and the Director of Non Formal Unit until the NPP shook the NDC off the presidency. Rojo signed invitations to the media to cover the recent press conference of Prof. Mills to announce his decision to run for NDC slot for the Presidential election. On the other hand, a credible source hinted this paper that Professor rejected a sacrificial offer from Spio-Garbrah that he (Spio) would want to lead his campaign team.
The learned Law lecturer, we were told, politely declined that offer saying “No I would want Kumbour to be my Campaign Manager.” Many NDC activists who The Independence spoke to on the latest move by Prof. Mills say, he is living up to his new message of being his own man without relying solely on advise from members of his last campaign team. Others opined that it would have been politically unwise to still rely on people whose message was not convincing enough to make the NDC the top party in the last general elections. That decision was relayed to the Leader and Founder of the NDC, Flt. Lt. Rawlings, who according to impeccable sources, agreed “to respect the decision of Prof. Mills.”
Dr Kumbour comes into the fray as one of the most pleasant personalities in the NDC with very objective views on issues of national concern. He is relatively unknown, and whilst many who oppose his new appointment allude to his unknown status as a minus, his supporters believe Dr Kumbour is new in the frontline of the party and carries no excess baggage which they maintain, is the best thing that could happen to a party that is waiting for a new image.
