Stay Above Rawlings And Obed Division

The National Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, has advised the youth and the women's wings of the party to live above what he termed the "Obed and Rawlings dichotomy".

He said as the future leaders and eagles of the party that would fly the party to victory and maintain it in power, they should concentrate on things that would move the party forward. Iddrisu,who was addressing the Greater Accra Regional Youth Delegates Congress in Accra on Saturday, said "we should not allow ourselves to be dragged into such problems; we must stay focused and work hard to wrest power from the NPP."

He noted that time was not waiting for the NDC to solve all its problems and that things that slowed the organisation of the party should be jettisoned, adding that "we should vent our anger on the NPP government and ensure that it was voted out of power rather than using our energies to fight among ourselves.

He said the youth should bear in mind that they had a lot of years ahead of them and since the governance of this country would have a great impact on their lives, it was their responsibility to ensure that a proper administration that cared for the welfare of the youth was put at the helm of affairs.

Iddrisu, who is also the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, advised the youth to always be guided by the wise saying that "a house divided against itself would not stand". He said the NDC lost the 2004 elections due to the myriad cases of division in many parts of the country, especially where some members decided to contest as independent candidates.

He said party loyalty and discipline should not be sacrificed for the comfort of any members because these were the two cardinal bases upon which the party could survive. Mr. Iddrisu urged the party members to respect the constitution of the party and never do anything that would be seen to be flouting the basic law of the party.

He expressed regret that the hierarchy of the party rejected the suggestion that the youth wing of the party should be made the in-charge of the polling agent work in the 2004 general election and added that if they had agreed, most of the cases of malpractices which went against the party would not have occurred.

According to Iddrisu, who is seeking another term to be the National youth organiser of the party, the NPP members were aware that they would lose the 2008 elections because Ghanaians were fed up with their incumbency and corrupt practices. He said it was for this reason that the NPP was bent on ensuring that Ghanaians outside were made to vote, a situation which he described as a recipe for political chaos in the country. He said the NDC would use all legitimate means to oppose the bill to ensure that the democratic process, which it started in 1992,was jealously guarded from being jeopardised.