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NDC Gurus Move To Gag 'Dr. Boom’

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 Source: The Enquirer

The Enquirer newspaper has been hinted of a high-profile meeting among some top brass of the main of opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), over an attempt to gag ex-president Jerry John Rawlings from making ‘boom’ statements.

The meeting, the Enquirer newspaper paper gathered was held at East Legon, in Accra last Friday evening after the former president launched a scathing attack on the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government over the death of Mr. Roko Frimpong, a former Deputy Managing Director of the Ghana Commercial Bank. The former president, who was speaking at a forum organized by the NDC on Thursday in Accra under the theme: “Setting the Records Straight Our Legacy, Lambasted the NPP of masterminding the killing of some high profile persons in the country.

At the meeting by the NDC gurus, the agenda was to either call the former president to order as far as making ‘boom’ speeches are concerned or possibly restrain him from campaigning towards the December elections. The Enquirer was told by a source who was present to the meeting that majority of the top hierarchy of the party were surprised at the utterances of the former president because those attacks were not party of the agenda for the forum. “We have organized the forum to simply tell Ghanaians of what the NDC did to develop Ghana when it was in power and not to attack anybody, “ the source said. According to the source, the party has been skeptical over the role the former present will play in the campaign because of his fondness for ‘inflammatory or unnecessary’ statements.

The paper was told that after a very careful reflection, it was decided that the former president, who is the founder of the party should be assigned with some regions but that is gradually turning out to be a minus to the NDC campaign due to his ‘boom speeches’. Although, the NDC recognises the former president is an asset to the party, The Enquirer Newspaper was told by the source that his ‘useless speeches’ is gradually becoming a liability to the Mills campaign to win the December presidential race. The source said at the meeting, it was decided that emissary should be sent to the former president to advise him to repackage his campaign message.

According to the source their major concern during deliberations at the meeting last Friday night was how best the former president can consolidate the gains made by Prof. Mills and his running mate in their campaign. The source told The Enquirer Newspaper that the former president utterances are have far-reaching ramifications on the NDC and must be stopped in earnest. So far, the running mate of Prof. Mills, Mr. Mahama in reaction to the statement made by the former president has noted that what Rawlings said was not part of the NDC’s campaign message.The Bole-Bamboi MP said that the former president’s statements at the forum should be regarded as his personal views and not that of the NDC. Mr. Mahama who was reacting to the former president’s statement last Friday on an Accra based radio station, asked the media not to focus attention on what Rawlings said.

Source: The Enquirer