NDC 2020: Mahama comeback doesn't scare me – Sly

Flag bearer-hopeful of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sylvester Mensah, has said he is not at all worried about the return of former president John Mahama as far as the party’s presidential race is concerned.

Mr Mahama on Thursday, 23 August 2018, officially conveyed his intention to run for the flag bearer slot of the NDC, to the leadership of the party at the Adabraka headquarters.

Asked if Mr Mahama’s announcement throws his ambition out of gear, Mr Mensah told sit-in host of Class91.3FM’s Executive Breakfast Show, Benjamin Akakpo, that: “Not at all, indeed, the mood in the party now is for change”.

According to him, “The party believes strongly that the time for doing new things has come”.

He said Mr Mahama has been “successful in his mission as president and that his name has gone into the history books”.

However, “Ghanaians are looking for a change; they are looking for a new voice and looking for a new face”.

Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, a former Trade and Industry Minister; former Vice-Chancellor of the University for Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Prof. Joshua Alabi; Cape Coast South MP, Kweku Ricketts-Hagan; private legal practitioner Elikplim Agbamava and handyman Stephen Atubiga are the other aspirants who have declared their intentions.

But Mr Mensah believes he stands tall in terms of seniority in the party.

“I’m the most senior among them and they must rather be scared about my participation. In terms of NDC seniority, we were part of the formation of the party. All of them were found by the party and joined the party at one point or the other”.

He was of the view that “competition is good” and leaders should be selected through competitive processes.