NDC Poll: Nii Coleman denounces politics of patronage

An aspiring Parliamentary Candidate for the Korley Klottey Constituency in the upcoming National Democratic Congress (NDC) nationwide primaries slated for November 7th 2015 , Nii John Coleman has condemned the use of ‘big names’ and family relationship by his opponents.

He has also kicked against attempt by his opponents to play tricks with the biometric registration of prospective party members all in an attempt to confuse voters during the party’s primaries.

According to him, members of the party in the constituency should focus on competence, dedication and integrity rather than subjective issues like relatives of bigwigs of the party, dropping of big names and sharing of relief items which in the long run might affect the fortunes of the party in the upcoming general elections.

The astute and confident politician, who once served in the capacity of constituency Youth Organizer and Vice Chairman and was elevated to the position of Deputy Youth Organiser and the Substantive Regional Youth Organiser of the party for several years, gave the admonition in an interview with this paper during a meeting with the P.W.D (1) branch in Osu.

He added that the party (NDC) had an obligation to move ahead and respond to the complexities of society, warning that dwelling too much on subjective issues just like what the other aspirants are engaged in will create problems for the party

Responding to some concerns raised by his supporters, he indicated that he (NII JOHN COLEMAN) winning the Constituency Primaries would mean that people in the Korley Klottey Constituency have taken grip of the party, particularly when currently the image of the party has sunk so low without any hope insight .

Nii John Coleman whose declaration to contest the Constituency Primaries is giving the other contestants some sleepless nights however, believes that the toils of the Founding Members of the Party should not be in vain since the despondence and apathy which we are witnessing are temporary, insisting that delegates must be discerning enough and vote for a candidate who is dedicated, loyal and above all competent to steer the affairs of the party.

The experienced politician and an expert in grassroots mobilization believes the NDC must transcend several generations just like other political traditions in known democracies in France and Britain and that he has what it takes to lay the foundation for such laudable objective for the constituency.

He believes that the party must be active all year round and not just during elections, adding the practice where our Members of Parliament practice what he called EAT, SLEEP GO NTO PARLLIMNET will be a thing of the past saying regular party workshops, seminars, periodic meetings with Executive Appointees, training and other capacity building programmers is THE way to go.

He assured the Constituents that if he wins the primaries and the parliamentary seat his main effort will be to fight for the establishment of Osu Municipal Assembly. This he believes will give OSU the needed financial muscle for development.

The former Greater Accra Regional Youth Organiser disclosed that he intends to make the party pro-active in engaging and listening to party activists, sympathizers and local communities on the basis of their needs such as employment, sanitation, water, and education by liaising with appropriate State Institutions whose mandates are to provide these facilities.

His campaign team believes he has the vision to re-enforce the NDC’s role as a truly functional national party where all are welcome under the umbrella.

In 2010 after their break away, the late President John Evans Atta-Mills NDC invited back into the party Nii John Coleman, Mr. Yao Obed Asamoah and Mr.Bid Ziddine who currently is also contesting a seat in Upper West Region and campaigned vigorously during the 2012 general elections together with His Excellency John Dramani Mahama to win the 2012 general elections.

Meanwhile investigations conducted by this paper show that, there are serious divisions in the current crop of the Constituency Executives of the party, with some of them campaigning for Ezanator Rawlins who many believed has not been active in the constituency for the past four years as required by the guidelines of the party.