Although the National Youth Forum of the minority NDC has denied the existence of any rift between former Attorney-General, Dr. Obed Asamoah and the former president, John Rawlings, “The Daily Guide” an Accra private daily newspaper reports that evidence available to it proves contrary.
“The paper has learnt that the former president is bent on ignoring the wish of the NDC Youth Forum led by Iddrisu Haruna, a former president of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), to make executive positions in the party elective, free and fair, and is going ahead to pencil his favourites to take up national executive positions within the party during the upcoming national delegates congress of the NDC scheduled for the University of Ghana Legon, between December 28 and 30, 2001.”
Should this be done the paper further learnt that it would bring the former president at loggerheads with Dr. Asamoah, the man regarded as the favourite to win the chairmanship of the party.
In its desire to get to the bottom of the alleged rift between the two NDC gurus gathered from some supporters of the party that the former president has along felt that Dr. Asamoah has very little respect for him.
“Insiders who revealed this to the paper on Tuesday on condition of anonymity said since the NDC lost the last elections, Dr. Asamoah has not been present at nay meeting called by the president.”
According to the paper, this attitude by Dr. Asamoah has been interpreted to mean he has no respect for the former president, probably because Rawlings is no more in power.
“The insider alleged that there are many within the NDC currently who think that Rawlings’ time has past.”
Although Dr. Asamoah cannot be ruled out of those who think along those lines, party insiders, according to the paper said many other intellectuals like the minority leader, Alban Bagbin, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah and others think that “it is time Rawlings park off the road and allowed the youth a stronger say in determining affairs of the party particularly now that he has constitutionally retired from office and is expected to live and behave like a statesman.”
According to the paper, insiders describe Dr. Asamoah as somebody whose likely election as chairman of the biggest opposition party in the country, would bring a lot of fortunes to the party if it ever hopes to recapture power from the ruling NPP.
Dr. Asamoah is described as a “self-made-man” who is not one of the people “the Rawlingses brought from grass to grace.”
Speculations are that the former president wants only his favourites make it to the top of the party’s leadership positions. Names such as Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, former Minister for Education, Alhaji Idrisu Mahama, former presidential advisor on governmental affairs, Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, NDC general secretary, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and Dr. Tony Aidoo, former deputy defence minister are said to be on Rawlings’s list to take up the top jobs in the party on the basis of their loyalty to him (Rawlings).
Meanwhile, Mr. Spio-Garbrah is reported to have said that he is not interested in any of the positions to be contested for at the up-coming congress.
Nominations for the December 28 congress opened at the party’s headquarters on December 2.
Meanwhile, the Cadres of the revolution who are still an integral part of the NDC are said to be strongly behind former president Rawlings, adding, they still see Rawlings as the founder and leader of the party and would go all out to ensure that the party is not divided as “Asamoah and his followers allegedly seek to do.”
