The Young Democratic Forces (YDF), a pressure group within the National Democratic Congress (NDC), are urging delegates going to the October 20 National Delegates Congress of the NDC not to vote for the incumbent General Secretary, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia.
Mr Deniz SaCut Amenga-Etego, YDF’s Convener, says following the defeat of the NDC at the 2016 polls, the YDF believes that the National Chairman, General Secretary, National Organiser and National Youth Organiser of the Party, must all bow out of office and allow a new and clean slate for a fresh start towards election 2020.
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“In this regard, we are happy to note that all the above mentioned National Executive Officers have decided not to seek re-election except Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia,” Mr Amenga-Etego stated at a press conference on the impending National Delegate Congress of the NDC.
“Left with no choice, we have decided to champion the house cleaning of the NDC. Our particular aim is to first and foremost campaign for the removal and replacement of Johnson Asiedu Nketia as General Secretary of the NDC.”
He said the Party lost power in 2016 partly because “We had a complacent leadership who thought they didn’t need the skills, energies and talents of the many party activists – because they didn’t really understand the talents and skills needed to win an election in the 21st century.”
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“The leadership refused to delegate functions because they had become complacent and didn’t want to spread Party resources for effective organisation,” he added.
He noted that many of the young and talented junior Party Officers were not assigned any particular duties during the 2016 general elections.
“No wonder after the 2016 elections, under General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who also acted as campaign Chairman, the NDC Party could not come out with official collated results to compare with those of the EC and the NPP whose officers announced their results ahead of the Electoral Commission because of an efficient system and structure put in place –they were thinking with the times,” the Convenor said.
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Mr Amenga-Etego said the NDC must clean its house and reposition itself to attract new voters, protest voters and apathetic voters, saying that, the party must not maintain the General Secretary who has occupied the position for the past 13 years.
He called on delegates to consider the present and future interests of the NDC Party first by voting out Mr Asiedu Nketia to pave way for teamwork, party unity, cooperation, greater probity and accountability, over and above all, victory for the NDC come 2002.