General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia has laughed off comments by Former president Jerry John Rawlings stating jokingly that Mr Asiedu Nketia is not handsome enough to serve as flagbearer of the NDC.
Jerry Rawlings at a rally to mark the NDC’s 25th year anniversary at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region on Saturday, said it was a pity that the NDC general secretary was ugly, otherwise the party would have made him flagbearer in 2020.
“…it is a pity he (Asiedu Nketia) is ugly…If he were handsome, we would put him on a horse to go and help. Considering how light he is like air, the horse will run faster,” Rawlings said drawing laughter from the crowd.
But Mr Asiedu Nketia reacting to the former President’s comment believes Mr Rawlings was only making fun of him because of the overwhelming cheering crowd he pulled after joining the ‘big men’ on the podium.
This notwithstanding, Mr Asiedu Nketia stated he is not bothered about his physical feature because he believes it is a gift from God.
“God gave everyone what fits them and that’s why I’m proud of myself. God gave me those features and I cannot be held accountable for that…,” he said.
He further remarked that the former President, John Mahama would have won the 2016 elections if Ghanaians voted based on how beautiful or handsome a politician is as according to him, the former President is more handsome than the sitting President.
“In 2016, the most handsome of the race did not win…people claimed he was more handsome than Nana Addo but still, Nana Addo won…ask yourself why people didn’t even vote massively for John Mahama though he is a handsome man, it should tell you that they didn’t vote per physical features” he noted.
He further stated that Rawlings passed the comment because he was late for the programme.
“I was very late for the event because of heavy traffic on the Tema road but when I got there and saw all the big men on the stage, I quickly apologized.
“But I realized that when I got there, the crowd were all over me and that’s why JJ decided to make fun of me saying I’m even popular than Mahama but for my weight and handsomeness, I could qualify as flagbearer of the party” he said on Okay fm.
According to General Mosquito as he is popularly known, Rawlings was pushed to make those comments because he believed in his hard work.
“Rawlings knows what I have done and what I can do for my party and that’s why he wanted to give me that huge position” he stressed.
Listen to General Mosquito’s reply