A former District Chief Executive for Sekyere East, Kwadwo Addae, has asked the rank and file of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to apologise to party founder and former President Jerry John Rawlings to aid the rebuilding of the NDC.
According to him, the neglect of Mr Rawlings ahead of last year’s polls resulted in the massive defeat of the party, therefore if the NDC will make any inroads in the next general elections, the executive must find ways of reconciling with the former President.
A statement he issued on Friday May 26 said: “Ever since the NDC lost the election to the NPP, I have had the opportunity to talk once to Dr Kwabena Duffuor, former Finance Minister, on phone and I told him that any attempt to build the NDC to a winsome political party, we need to seek the active involvement of H. E Jerry John Rawlings; without him, any attempt will be a total failure.
“Rawlings is the founder and pillar of NDC. We must not lose sight of Rawlings signing the manifesto of NDC with his blood. H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, in his desperate wish to become the President of Ghana, saw the urgent need to get closer to the Rawlings family, first through Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings.
“NDC activists couldn’t be smart enough to see through the actions and inactions of Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings and withdrew from Nana Konadu and disgraced her and the Rawlings family. Those who felt the NDC could stand the test of all the wrangling in the NDC without Rawlings and his family should have known that NDC could not do anything without Rawlings. Without Rawlings, NDC would definitely be existing only as an opposition party. The opportunity is there for serious NDC members to shed their pride and go to Jerry John Rawlings and be bold to say to him: ‘Rawlings, we are sorry for all that has happened to you in the party (Abofra dwons? gu n’agya nan so a ontwa ntwene)’ and then apologise to him to plead with him and talk to his wife and join hands for the revival of the NDC.”
In a subsequent interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom on Accra100.5FM on Friday May 26, Mr Addae said: “Dr Kwesi Botchway’s team should take the initiative for the survival of the party. Recently when some disgruntled people put it on social media platforms that H.E. Jerry John Rawlings was dead, it got me shocked. Thank God it turned out to be false. If it had been true that Rawlings had died, NDC in its present situation would also have died with him. His burial would have been the burial of NDC. We must act as the prodigal son and shed our pride and go to Rawlings – founding father and pillar of the NDC – and simply tell him to forgive and forget.”
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