The General Secretary of the main opposition party, National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, yesterday shot himself in the foot by stating that it would be unwise for former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, to vie for the same position again
However, Mr Nketia disclosed that same cannot be said of former President John Mahama.
In an interview on Okay FM morning show, NDC chief scribe was asked if he was aware that former NPP General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, popularly called Sir John, would contest the same position again after he was defeated at the 2014 primaries of the party.
He told the host of the morning show that if indeed Sir John was planning to contest for the same position he lost to suspended Kwabena Agyei Agyepong after four years, then he would advise him to stop to avert ‘humiliation’ in the elections.
According to the NDC chief scribe, if Sir John loses the elections again, it will be a big blot on his record.
The possibility of losing again is very high and as a very good friend, I would advise him not to go that path and shelve the idea. Sir John’s comeback would be like attending a funeral and announcing your presence by giving some donations to the bereaved and getting served with food. After that recognition had been given to you, nobody will recognise you again if you decide to leave and later come back to the funeral grounds. Sir John’s time is over and so any attempt to stage a comeback will be suicidal and could result in shame for him.”
When the NDC Chief Scribe was asked whether Sir John’s situation was not akin to that of the former president and NDC presidential candidate, who lost heavily in the 2016 general elections, he said the two scenarios were completely different.
Asiedu Nketia said that he would not talk about the former President Mahama and that it would not be right to compare the two.
Former President Mahama’s decision to stage a comeback was given a further boost over the weekend when he led a ‘Unity Walk’ in Tamale with Asiedu Nketia in attendance, but some party bigwigs were conspicuously absent during the Tamale walk.