Rawlings Is NDC Asset -Obed

Dr Obed Yaw Asamoah, National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has dismissed assertions of the spin-doctors of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that the former President J.J. Rawlings is a liability to the NDC and that his presence in their campaign team would blemish the fortunes of the NDC in the December 2004 general elections.

?The fact that the NPP is jittery about the presence of Mr. Rawlings in our campaign team shows clearly that they are afraid of his involvement ?that it will cause a damage to them. Rawlings is the most popular politician in this country,? he said.

?For the NPP to feel uncomfortable, I believe that he is an asset, not a liability, although some of his boom speeches sometimes cause disquiet, but by and large, he is an asset to the party,? he told newsmen in a recent interview.

Even so, he said, the only solution was to advise him. He stressed, however, that Mr Rawlings? apparent speech controversy applied to every politician and intimated that instead of the varying interpretations given by the spin-doctors of the NPP to such rippling statements of the former president, the issues raised therein should rather be analysed.

Descending on President Kufuor for making ?a complete blunder at cape Coast by saying that people bring bribes to him,? he quipped: ?How on earth could he have made such a mistake? Somebody who says he is committed to Zero Tolerance for Corruption.? The politician, who spoke as well on issues of recent defections that had rocked the NDC, said his findings proved that the NPP had chosen a wrong battleground. He advised the party not to step into his territory.