Rawlings’ Cadre Goes Ballistic

*Rawlings’ cadre goes ballistic: NDC IS FLAUNTING FILTHY WEALTH


Nana Nanabanyin Ninsin-Imbeah II, former Secretary of the defunct Kumasi Metropolitan Central Coordinating Committee of Workplace Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (CDRs), has expressed grave concern over the display of “filthy wealth” by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), in respect of the all inclusive GH¢420,000 fees.

The Senior Cadre, commenting on the development, said the filing fee is not only absurd, but exploitative, and expressed surprise that the once men of straw now want the whole world to know they are men of substance. “It is amazing that the once “Charlie Wote” and “Afro Moses Sandals”-wearing revolutionaries can now be asked to pay such huge sums of monies as filing fees for the presidential slot, slated for January 19, 2019. 

The NDC, last week Thursday, decided that presidential aspirants in the up-coming primary should pay GH¢400,000 as a filing fee, and further agreed that the nomination forms should sell at GH¢20,000.

Female candidates will pay 50 per cent less of the GH¢200,000 filing fee, whilst there is an additional reduction for aspirants with physical disabilities, GH¢150,000
But, Nana Nanabanyin Ninsin-Imbeah II, Ex-Nyimfahen of the Mfantseman Council in the Ashanti Region, has expressed shock that no leas a personality than a comrade (Asiedu Nketia), who he described in the strictest sense as “a man of straw”, could propose such huge monies as a condition for contesting the presidential primary.

The ex-Chief queried the background of the “men of integrity” to be able to raise such fantastic sums of money, and called for a declaration of assets by all the presidential aspirants for them to tell the public the work they did to raise such huge sums of monies being demanded from them.

According to the Senior Cadre, the NDC leadership has openly disgraced the party and membership by giving credence to their description by the late Lawyer Obeng Manu as “Men of Straw, having now become men of substance.”

Nana Ninsin-Imbeah II said the NDC deserves to be hooted at by the public for displaying such filthy opulence as a means of coming to power, only to come and breed guinea fowls to migrate to neighbouring countries without any trace.

Meanwhile, The Chronicle can confirm that four out of the nine aspirants vying for the flagbearership position of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have picked up nomination forms.

Out of the nine aspirants, four of them have been able to pick their nomination forms, who are former President John Mahama, Professor Joshua Alabi, Stephen Atubiga, and Alban Bagbin.

Mr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Sylvester Mensah, Goosie Tanoh, Kojo Bonsu and Elikplim Agbemava will, therefore, be left out of the race in vying to lead the party in the upcoming 2020 elections.

It would be recalled that on November 29, 2018, the General Secretary of the party, Mr. Asiedu Nketia, announced at the party’s headquarters here in Accra, that filing and nomination fees are GH¢400,000 and 20,000 respectively.

This jaw-breaking amount has since sparked a huge uproar and debates from members and supporters of the NDC.

However, eight, excluding ex-president John Mahama, wrote a petition to the opposition party’s National Council of Elders, asking for the filing and nomination fees to be reduced.

According to a letter sighted by The Chronicle, the eight aspirants are seeking for the filing fee to be reduced from GH¢400,000 to 100,000, as suggested by Alban Bagbin, and nomination forms also be reduced from GH¢20,000 to 5,000.

The eight, who signed the petition are Alban Bagbin, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Sylvester Mensah, Stephen Atubiga, Nurudeen Iddrisu, Goosie Tanoh, Kojo Bonsu and Elikplim Agbemava, and want the nomination form fee, which is GH¢20,000, to be reduced to GH¢5,000, and the filing fee, which is rocket-high, at GH¢400,000 to be reduced to GH¢100,000.

Meanwhile, the former Central Regional Chairman of the party, Bernard Allotey Jacobs, says if, indeed, the presidential aspirants of the party do not have the GH¢400,000 filing fee, then they should rally their support behind John Mahama.

Allotey Jacobs, who said this on Adom TV’s ‘Badwam’ programme today, narrated: “We just want to ensure that we win the 2020 elections, and … my advice to the other contestants is that they should all rally behind President Mahama … it will be good for them to rally behind President Mahama … so that whatever they have, they can all contribute into the party’s coffers,” he added.