Let us be calm and move forward – Ade Coker gasps

The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Joseph Ade Coker has called for calm as the there are processes underway to do a detailed postmortem of the party’s abysmal performance in this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

Obviously, all is not well with the NDC after suffering its worst defeat in the history of the country’s elections. Already, there are moves to get the party restructured within the shortest possible time for the 2020 general elections.

The incumbent President John Dramani Mahama polled 4, 713,277 votes representing 44.40% of the total votes as against 5,716,026 which is 53.85% by the main opposition NPP led by Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo to emerge the victor in the 2016 presidential elections. This has been described by some poll watchers as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘humiliating’ defeat to be suffered by an incumbent President in Ghana.

Some supporters and regional executives have placed the blame on the National Executives and called for their immediate removal from office for an investigation into their stewardship.

But the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the outgoing NDC Joseph Ade Coker told Onua FM morning show Yen Nsem Pa hosted by Bright Kwesi Asempa that too much of blame games will only end up disintegrating the party which will not auger well for the party’s chances in the 2020.

“We have to now work on how to move forward, yes we are all not happy about the outcome of this year’s result but it has happened and we have to see how we can together move the party into the next elections. I wish those who are complaining to also ask themselves what they have done to help the party.”

Ade Coker admitted that apathy had played major part in the defeat of the NDC which he said was largely caused by inability of the National Executives to properly deal with some issues arising out of the party’s primaries.

“Bright, we did not do well in handling those who were referred to as ‘Methuselahs’ and voted them out during the primaries, we should have quickly resolve those issues but we allowed it fester and that caused a lot of apathy. It affected us everywhere,” he asserted.

“Everyone has one grievances or another, but we must come together. No amount of portioning blame will put us together but this is the time we demonstrate the forgiving hearts that we have and say never again. Let us put our differences aside in the interest of the NDC.”