The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 elections John Dramani Mahama has been leading attacks against the legacies of the Founder of the NDC, Jerry John Rawlings, the National Democratic Party (NDP), has said.
National Chairman of the NDP, Alhaji Mohammed Frimpong at a press conference in Accra on Monday November 23 accused Mr Mahama of using some individuals within the NDC to water down the influence of the late Mr Rawlings in the party.
“The political henchmen who were utilized for such diabolic assignments have been rewarded with high positions in the NDC under John Mahama and those who picked up the baton are also expecting big posts under a Mahama government,” he said at a press conference in Accra on Monday to dispel rumors that the wife of Mr Rawlings who is also the Presidential candidate of the NDP, has stepped down from the race ahead of the December 7 elections.
He said “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.
“Today, the political henchmen who were utilized for such diabolic assignments have been rewarded with high positions in the NDC under John Mahama and those who picked up the baton are also expecting big posts under a Mahama government. Those who produced forewords of books that cast the founder of the party in bad light are hoping to occupy the highest positions in government on the ticket of the party which was formed through the sweat and blood of Jerry John Rawlings.
“What did Rawlings do to warrant such disrespect from the NDC under the leadership of John Mahama? All Rawlings did was to be a voice of conscience reminding them of his enduring principles of probity, accountability and anti-corruption- creeds the NDC under John Mahama blatantly disregarded when they assumed the reins of power. As a result, they sought to silence him so as to prevent him from publicly repudiating them for their unprecedented levels of corruption.
“We are troubled that some of these same persons, upon the demise of President Rawlings, now seek to lead in mourning the man; they have begun to shed crocodile tears. They spent thousands of dollars to sponsor videos made in Washington DC by one Kelvin Taylor, who is tipped to be information Minister in the event of a Mahama comeback, to insult President Rawlings in words, some of which we dare not repeat, and posted them all over the world through Facebook, WhatsApp, and other social media platforms.
“With the apparent endorsement of John Mahama and the NDC leadership, Kelvin Taylor said, and I quote, “Rawlings is a modern-day Judas and a hypocrite. He and his sleazy wife are greedy. He behaves as a lapdog to the NPP government and always kisses the ass of Nana Akufo-Addo anytime he gets the opportunity to speak about corruption.” He also went on to say and I quote, “JJ Rawlings is not God, he is bad news and a modern-day Judas… and such a man does not even deserve to be a Statesman.” “JJ Rawlings is a coward… [you are] a hypocrite and a disgrace on the lap of a midget”.
“These actions were deliberate and orchestrated by the Mahama-led NDC to hurt Jerry Rawlings and kill his soul even when he was alive. And now, the NDC which was fighting over a Book of Condolence ended up restating their contempt for President Rawlings by using a reception logbook as a book of condolence at their party office.”
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana