Former Deputy Minister for Transport Joyce Bawa Mogtari says some officials of the National Democratic Congress misinterpreted her over claims attributed to her that the NDC is not ready for the 2020 elections as being reported in the media.
According to Bawa, she is not the mouthpiece of the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC), for which reason she can claim in the media that the party is not ready for the 2020 elections.
The Spokesperson for the former President, Bawa Mogtari is alleged to have said that she won’t be bothered should the NPP stay in power for eight years.
Speaking with Bola Ray on Starr Chat, Wednesday, the former Deputy Minister for Transport disclosed that for the NPP to rule in government from 2016 to 2024 is normal and shows the beauty of Ghana’s democracy.
“Well I don’t really mind if NPP rules for eight (8) years, it’s democracy and really not an issue. When they lost, you can imagine how they felt when we moved into Flagstaff House and I know the feeling… We’ve all been there and that is the beauty of our democracy.”
A Deputy Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fred Abgenyo said the Headquarters was overwhelmed with phone calls and complaints Thursday after Bawa’s threatening views expressed in the media about the NPP’s reign for eight years.
Supporters of the largest opposition NDC Thursday demanded clarification on Bawa’s stance, as such views to them signaled the party is still not set to rise from the ashes after the big defeat it suffered in the 2016 elections.
Also a large section of the NDC family, including the Deputy General Secretary, Koku Anyidoho irked by Bawa’s views have roundly condemned her utterances at a time the party is strategizing to recapture power in the next general elections in 2020.
But reacting to the development, Bawa said her views were misconstrued by her own party people.
In a statement issued to clarify the matter, Mogtari said: “I have read with some disappointment, news reports attributed to some officials of our party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), in which I am accused of stating among others that the NDC is not ready for the 2020 national elections.
“While no such statement was uttered by me on the Starr Chat, a personality chat show on March 08, 2017, let me also state that I have never stated or ever claimed that I am the spokesperson for the NDC or that I speak for the party.
“I remain a proud member of the NDC. My presence on the Starr Chat was, however, in my personal capacity on the occasion of the 2017 International Women’s Day.
“In response to a question about the plans of HE John Mahama, I indicated that I had had no discussions with him about contesting the next elections, and added that whether he contested the 2020 or the 2024 elections, he would still be a relatively young man and able to contest.
“The host of the show then interjected to ask whether that meant I ‘know the NPP will have eight years’, to which I responded that it wouldn’t really matter because among others, that was the beauty of our democracy.
“The above cannot, by a stretch of anyone’s imagination, be a statement from me, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, that the NDC is not ready for 2020 or that I will be happy with an eight-year rule for the NPP.”
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