The Mahama and Ahwoi factions within the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have led various attacks and machinations to destroy the legacies of the founder of the NDC, the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, the National Chair of the National Democratic Party (NDP), the party founded by former First Lady and wife of former president Rawlings, Alhaji Mohammed Frimpong, has said.
At a press conference in Accra on Monday, November 23 to clear doubts as to whether or not Mrs Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings has pulled out of the presidential race in the December elections following the demise of her husband, Mr Rawlings, Alhaji Frimpong noted that the scheme to damage the legacies of Mr Rawlings started long ago.
“Ladies and gentlemen, some curious events in the past few days have come to our attention which show clearly that there are attempts by some elements to desecrate the legacy and name of President Rawlings even upon his demise.
“These acts are being perpetrated by persons who have shown a desire to constantly humiliate Jerry John Rawlings and his family even when he was alive.
“It is worth noting that these deliberate orchestrations to humiliate the Rawlings family began long ago. It began right from the period when certain individuals, many of whom were direct beneficiaries of the revolution that Jerry John Rawlings led and the party that he formed at the peril of his life, felt the need to use their temporary hold on the leadership of the NDC to relegate him to the background in order to capture the juicy fruits borne from his sacrifices; they’ve tried to harvest where they have not planted.
“For the past decade, these elements led principally by the Ahwois and the Mahama group within the NDC orchestrated a series of coordinated attacks aimed at destroying the legacy of Jerry John Rawlings.
“This, they did, by sponsoring political neophytes JJ himself aptly described as ‘babies with sharp teeth’ to unleash barrages of insults and spew damning political rhetoric on the persons of Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings. Even the eventual ostracization of Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings from the NDC was inadequate to appease them. As recently as this year, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyeman, the running mate of the NDC wrote the foreword of a book by Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi which was aimed at destroying the legacy of Jerry John Rawlings. Indeed, in the weeks leading up to his demise, President Rawlings made it clear to all those he had meetings with that he was extremely heartbroken that neither the leadership of the NDC nor the Executives had made any statements in defence of the Founder nor to correct the lies in the book,” he said.
He further stated that the presidential candidate of the NDP is still in the race.