No MP is bigger than the NDC - Avoka says party united after 'miscommunication' issues

A former Majority Leader and sitting Member of Parliament for Zebilla, Cletus Avoka, says internal wrangling within the National Democratic Congress, NDC, has been resolved.

According to him, the issues that created a seeming rift between the NDC Parliamentary caucus and party leadership were as a result of miscommunication adding that all outstanding issues had been resolved out and a new road map agreed.

GhanaWeb monitored comments he made on Citi FM's weekend news analysis program, The Big Issue, on Saturday April 3, 2021.

“At the beginning there was a communication gap between the caucus and party leadership that accounted for some of these public statements some officials might have made.

"Certainly, we the MPs know we owe our allegiance to the party which is supreme and nobody in Parliament or outside is bigger than the party, so we are committed to respecting the views of the party,” he said.

He further indicated that a new structure had been adopted after a meeting between the two groups to forestall the occurrence of such a development going forward.

“So I think that what happened was a communication disconnect between the party leadership and the Minority leadership, but we have been able to iron out issues and are resolved to work together for victory in 2024.

"The caucus met the national executives and the council of elders a day after recess and this was the roadmap we have adopted for ourselves.

“The past is gone, and we must work as a team, we must create a level playing field with constant communication and work in the interest of the party and Ghana as a whole,” he added.

The recent resignation of North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa from Parliament's Appointments Committee according to him for 'personal reasons and on principle,' followed weeks of disenchantment on the part of party footsoldiers.

The national communication officer, Sammy Gyamfi, openly criticized especially the minority leadership, a sentiment that footsoldiers have trumpeted accusing their leadership of failing to tow the party line in the wake of the approval of some ministerial nominees.

Under pressure Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu has rejected calls for his resignation assuring the rank and file in an interview this week that he was in charge and will survive the current crisis.

Same George's party over nation argument

The NDC Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram Samuel Nartey George in a recent interview ranked his level of loyalty between the nation and his political party, stating that to him, the NDC comes before Ghana.

Appearing on a recent episode of Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana programme, he stated that he voted against some ministerial nominees of the president including the Information Minister because it was the expectation of his party base.

He explained further that despite being in Parliament by virtue of Ghana’s democratic practice, the vehicle that sent him to Parliament is the NDC hence that is where his loyalty lies first.

“I am not in parliament on the ticket of democracy, I am in Parliament on the ticket of the NDC. For democracy to happen you need a political party. There’s a vehicle that brought me here, that vehicle is not democracy,” he said.

“People are free to do that. But like I said, given my orientation and my belief, and my upbringing in the NDC, I believe that my first loyalty is the party. And whenever I write on social media I always say that my loyalty and my fidelity is to my party and country,” the MP stated.

“The country exists because there’s a party. The democracy we have if there’s no political party do you have a democracy? Can you have a democracy without a political party?” he questioned.