Victor James Gbeho
Whether or not ex-president John Mahama should be retained as the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) 2020 presidential candidate appears a herculean task for the party members, especially some top notches to surmount and it is such a tightrope Victor James Gbeho would dare not walk.
The opposition party has seemingly divided over the issue since it lost the 2016 general election.
One faction has opposed the idea of putting him up for the next general elections, whilst the other still holds a firm belief the former president would be NDC’s best bet.
In his diplomatic self, Ghana’s former permanent representative to the United Nations and former Foreign Minister, Mr Gbeho would not give in to incessant pressure during an interview to take a position on whether or not Mr Mahama should be on the ballot in 2020 on the ticket of the NDC.
“I don’t know,” Mr Gbevo shot back when pressed to make a public declaration in the interview aired on TV3 on Saturday.
For him, that decision should be left with the lawyers to determine the legality of it and the politicians to consider that option.
He stated that whether Mr Mahama is the ideal candidate for the NDC or not is still at the consideration stage, and maintained that it would be “invidious” for him to take a side.
Even if the NDC chooses to give the former president another chance, Ghanaians would make the ultimate decision at the polls if they want him again as Ghana’s leader after about 53 months stint at the presidency.
Mr Gbeho who is also former president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, stated “there is always a temptation of a candidate who loses to come back to set the record straight”.
Nonetheless, Mr Gbeho conceded, “I would not fault him if he (Mahama) wants to come back, but it is for him alone to decide”.
