Probe rivalry among NDC executives in Ashanti — Dicko
A leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Ashanti Region, Alhaji Nuhu Alhassan Dicko, has called on the leaders of the party to institute an independent committee to investigate the rivalry among party executives and members in the Ashanti Region.
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The committee, he argued, would unearth the causes of the rivalry and recommend solutions to the challenges facing the party in the region.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Kumasi, Alhaji Dicko, who is also an expert in International Relations and Global Governance, expressed the view that since the NDC was aiming at obtaining one million votes in Ashanti Region in the 2016 general election, unity among party members, particularly the regional leadership, was more paramount.
Last Tuesday, a statement issued by the Communication Minister, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, stated that President John Dramani Mahama had removed both the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Samuel Sarpong ,and his deputy, Joseph Yammin, from office with immediate effect and the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, was to act as Ashanti Regional Minister till a substantive minister was appointed.
On that score, Alhaji Dicko said there was a kind of rivalry between both Dr Sarpong and Mr Yammin.
however their removal from office did not resolve the problem of disunity among party members in the region.
Rivalry among leading
Apart from that, he said, it was believed that Dr Sarpong did not have a peaceful relationship with the Regional Chairman of the party, Yaw Obimpeh.
It will be recalled that the antagonism between the duo became public when the party went to the polls to elect its regional executive in Kumasi last year.
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Alhaji Dicko also said instead of closing their ranks and solving their differences after the regional executive elections, those involved in the antagonism perpetuated it, which seemed to be dividing the regional executives and the party members in the region.
“It seems nobody is ready to talk about this but it is no more a secret that Samuel Sarpong is not at peace with Chairman Yaw Obimpeh and Joseph Yammin. Though the removal of Sarpong and Yammin from office will in a way help, I still have the belief that it does not absolutely solve the problem among party executive at the regional level. An independent committee that will look into the woes of the party in Ashanti will help provide a cure once and for all”, he said.
Independent committee
He suggested that the committee should be made to first of all establish the fact that there was rivalry among some leading members, particularly the regional executive, after which a road map to solve the problem would be adopted.
Again, he suggested that the committee must recommend better strategies to solve the rivalry, especially in view of the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections, and the party’s resolve to obtain one million votes in the region.
Bitterness among groups
He observed that some groups within the party in the Ashanti Region were still bitter and that could hinder the progress of the party in the region and the country as a whole.
The groups he listed were the NDC’s Tertiary Education Institutions Network (TEIN), NDC serial callers, the NDC Zongo Caucus, the NDC taskforce, the NDC motor riders, NDC Baashaka and the previous elections’ NDC parliamentary candidates in the Ashanti Region.
He said these groups were important in the party and expressed the belief that an independent committee which would visit the groups and address their concerns, from the polling stations through constituency to the regional office levels would promote peace in the party.