Tony Aidoo attacks Obed

The factional fighting within the National Democratic Congress (NDC) appears to be heading for a two-man show between Dr Tony Aidoo, former Deputy Minister of Defence and Dr Obed Asamoah former Attorney General and one time Ghana’s longest serving Foreign Minister.

In an incisive and frontal attacks last Thursday, 18 April Dr Aidoo in a radio interview, accused Dr Asamoah of using state resources to operate branches of the Veranda Boys and Girls Club in Ghana and Great Britain. Dr Aidoo was reacting to press reports that linked him to allegations that Dr Asamoah lacks the leadership qualities to lead NDC to victory in 2004 and that Dr Asamoah would break NDC if elected chairman.

“I don’t need the cover of anonymity to voice out my critical views of Dr Asamoah’s bad leadership”, Aidoo said in reply to question on why he spoke to the press about Dr Asamoah on a plea of anonymity.

Dr Aidoo wondered why during Dr Asamoah’s numerous trips abroad as Foreign Minister he did not find it expedient to open branches of the Veranda Boys and Girls club in London, but used state resources to travel to London for the same purpose after he had served as Foreign Minister.

The outcome of this allegation could be a subject of investigation by the Commission on Human Right and Administrative Justice and the Attorney’s General’s Department.

When Public Agenda reached Dr Asamoah on phone last Friday to comment on Dr Aidoo’s allegation, he said he was not prepared to talk on ‘polemics of that nature. “I want to talk about principles”, Obed said and announced plans to hold a press conference on Monday at the Teachers Hall, five days to the NDC congress to clear his name.

Since 1992, the opposition and civil society groups had accused the then ruling NDC government of using state resources to run the 31 December Women’s Movement, the Civil Defence Organisation, the Association of Committees for the Defence of Revolution, the June 4 Movement, the Tertiary Education Network (TEIN) of the NDC and the Veranda Boys and Girls Club.

Accusations of wasting state resources on the party organs were vehemently denied by the then NDC government, which called the press all sorts of names for drawing the government’s attention to the misuse of the taxpayers’ money. One and half-years after the NDC lost power to the NPP Dr Aidoo has now confirmed that Dr Asamoah actually used state funds to establish the Veranda Boys and Girls Club, which has become Dr Asamoah’s support base as the race for the chairmanship of the party heats up.

The NPP General Secretary, Dan Botwe simply described Dr Aidoo’s exposure as ‘interesting’. We have always complained that money spent on Veranda Boys and Girls and other NDC organs were a drain on the economy. In reply we were told the clubs were NGOs. It is interesting to hear them now accusing each other of the same allegations they denied”, Botwe said. He added that NPP was monitoring the revelations to find the outcome of the exchanges before it would advise government to take action.

The forthcoming congress is a make or break affair for the NDC, whose founder and leader, Jerry Rawlings used the stick and carrot policy to keep the party together. The issue of one man controlling the party is undoubtedly the major issue for the congress to decide.

The NDC emerged out of the PNDC, which is the offshoot of a military coup staged by Jerry Rawlings in 1981. Since 1991 when the NDC was formed, Mr and Mrs Rawlings have been accused of controlling the party as if it were their personal property. The battle over who controls the party came to a head in 1998 when Rawlings handpicked Professor John Evans Atta Mills as the party’s presidential candidate against the wish of those who were advocating for internal democracy in the party.

Following the nomination of Prof Mills some peeved cadres broke away and formed the National Reform Party. When Prof. Mills lost the 2000 presidential poll the clamour for internal democracy and a clean break from Rawlings’ dominance in the party intensified. The reformists led by Dr Obed Asamoah feel that for the NDC to win the 2004 election all positions must be contested. But a clique who still want to see Rawlings have things his own have vowed to keep the old order. They have thus thrown their weight behind Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, Rawlings’ favourite for the NDC chairmanship.

That appears to be the dividing line between the Rawlings and Obed factions. While Rawlings and his supporters prefer Alhaji Iddrisu, who has been a Rawlings stooge for several years as party chairman, Dr Asamoah is contesting the hot seat in the hope that his chairmanship will put an end to Rawlings’ one-man show. How the election will go and what becomes of the party after the election on 27th April is anyone’s guess.