Bagbin is better than Mahama for 2020 – Moshake
Mr Stephen Ashitey Adjei an executive member of the Tema East National Democratic Congress (NDC) has taken on former Deputy Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine, over his claim that Alban Bagbin cannot become flagbearer of the NDC.
Mr Adjei, who is popularly called Moshake, has said that Dr. Ayine’s disqualification of the longstanding MP for Nadowli/Kaleo as frontrunner for the flagbearership of the party on the grounds of his Northern extraction was disjointed logic.
“If Hon. Alban Bagbin will not be ideal to lead the NDC into 2020 simply because he and President Mahama are from the North, the question is, will it be fair to Northerners that another Southerner rules this country after Akufo-Addo? Akufo-Addo is a Southerner and the NPP are sure to present him in 2020”, Moshake said.
The counter-analysis by Moshake was responding to Dr. Ayine’s earlier reasoning in an interview with Journalists in Accra to throw light on the unfolding issues in the biggest opposition party.
Dr Ayine claimed that because former President Mahama is a Northerner, the NDC would not be able to present the likes of Hon. Alban Bagbin as flagbearer for the 2020 election because doing so would be a repetition of a Northerner.
He said Dr. Ayine, also dismissed Hon. Alban Bagbin as totally unlikely to become the NDC’s flagbearer simply because he hails from the same geopolitical hemisphere as Ex-President Mahama on an Accra-based Radio station.
“In effect, what Dominic Ayine is telling us is that, in the event that former President Mahama does not become flagbearer for the NDC, in 2020, Ghanaians must be forced to choose between two Southerners, since President Akufo-Addo, who is a Southerner from the Eastern region may run again in 2020, ethnic politics by Dr Ayine to the disadvantage of northerners and the NDC in general is unfortunate because Ghanaians are one people.
“Even if the NDC wants to choose the northern path for a flagbearer in 2020, Alban Bagbin is the best and that is why Dr Ayine himself described Bagbin as a great person in NDC whose contributions cannot be measured”.
“I am a Southerner, but I don’t think it will be fair to our politics to have only Southerners running for President in 2020. Therefore, it is totally misplaced to say that if John Mahama does not become flagbearer, the NDC must elect another Southerner to lead it.
“The NDC must elect another Northerner to lead us into the 2020 election because the NPP will present a Southerner, and for me, our best bet is Hon. Alban Bagbin.” Moshake added
Mr Adjei noted that the pedigree of one of the longest serving legislators of Ghana was a glowing template that was visible for anybody who wanted to be a successful MP in Ghana. “For instance throughout his long stay in Parliament, Alban Bagbin has never been caught in any scandal before; how many people can beat that?”
He condemned what he said was geopolitical discrimination in Dr. Ayine’s analysis against Hon. Alban Bagbin, pointing out that the country does not need such biases in its democracy.
Even so, he asked rhetorically, whether on the basis of that same geopolitical analysis by Dr. Ayine, he (Ayine) himself does not see that Northerners would be treated poorly if another Northerner does not run for President in 2020.
“President Mahama is the first ever Northerner to become President in the Fourth Republic and the first ever Northerner to finish a Presidential term, because Dr. Hilla Liman’s Presidency was cut short by a coup.
“All of President Mahama’s living predecessors, Rawlings and Kufuor, who were Southerners got two full terms, but President Mahama as a Northerner got only one term. Would it be fair to see Akufo-Addo, another Southerner, getting two terms while the Northerners have had only one term?” Moshake asked.
He said Dr Ayine’s analysis was jaundiced in so many respects, adding that one of such fronts was his gloss over the fact that Hon. Bagbin would be a better candidate for the NDC in 2020 than former President Mahama.
“President Mahama has so much corruption baggage that is already a Public Relations nightmare for the NDC. The NPP will go to town with their old singsong of corruption and incompetence against Mahama again if he becomes flagbearer.
“Comparatively however, Hon. Bagbin, will be easier to market because he does not come with such heavy baggage, in spite of his long service in Parliament,” Moshake said.
Source: GNA