By Edmund Mingle
Dan Abodakpi, a former Minister of Trade and Industry
yesterday declared his candidature for the chairmanship of the ruling National
Democratic Congress (NDC), promising a dynamic leadership to revamp the party.
He also pledged to reconnect the party to its mass
base to ensure more inclusiveness in the operations of the party.
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| Mr. Abodakpi (Left) launching his bid at the press conference in Accra |
Making the declaration at a news conference in Accra,
Mr. Abodakpi, a founding member of the party, said his action was in response
to a call to improve save the party from drifting from its core values and mass
base.
The conference which was attended by a large number of
party supporters and elders, had the theme, “Reconnecting to the mass base and
core values of the NDC.”
“The decision of Dan
Abodakpi to contest for the position of National Chairman of the NDC is not a
personal one; it is a decision borne out of an extensive and deep consultation
across the broad spectrum of the Party.
“The call for the NDC to
have a new lease of life, has become a very urgent one; and the call cannot be
ignored,” he said.
According to him, his
mission was “to reconnect the NDC to its original core values and to its mass
base via the strengthening of the structures in accordance with the valued
principles of genuine participatory democracy and all-inclusiveness.
“My vision is to provide a new dynamic leadership, the pivot around which the collective energies of the party including the energies of the United
Cadres Group, shall revolve,” he said.
He explained that after having
played a founding role in giving birth to the NDC, and having also worked and
sacrificed alongside many other comrades to build the party and see it through
its 22 years of existence, “it will be remiss on my part to ignore the call by
the rank and file of the party, to position myself to forcefully engage in a
selfless role aimed at walking the party back into the hands of the grassroots.”
“People suffered to build
our much-cherished NDC Party; People have suffered a lot of persecution because
of their commitment to building and protecting the NDC; People have lost their
lives in the process of building the NDC; and we cannot; and must not allow our
dear Party to drift away from its mass base and a huge national appeal,” he
stressed.
At 22, he said the NDC has
many more years of growth ahead, and it was critical for the party to guard
against complacency.
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| He enjoyed massive support from NDC youth groups |
Asked about how confident
he was about victory, Mr. Abodakpi, who has held many government positions,
said he has the backing of the grassroot members, the cadres and elders of the
party who are desirous of the best for the NDC.
Responding to a question
about whether his incarceration under the NPP government over alleged crimes of
causing financial loss to the state, does not affect the credibility of his bid
to chair the NDC, Mr. Abodakpi said that action by the NPP government was as a
result of political persecution.
He said that “episode” in his life does not raise credibility question because he was wrongly imprisoned together with his colleagues in the NDC, adding that after his release, he continued as an MP and took up various government positions including being appointed Ghana’s Ambassador to Malaysia.
He explained that what
happened to him and his colleagues was a political imprisonment, “otherwise I
wouldn’t have been allowed into Parliament after my release.”
According to him, he has
forgiving those who persecuted him with the aim of destroying the NDC, saying
“vengeance is the Lord’s.”
Mr.
Abodakpi becomes the first to officially declare is candidature for the NDC
chairmanship post ahead of the party’s October congress.
He
is expected to face opposition from the incumbent,
Dr. Kwabena Adjei and a Vice Chairman, Kofi Portuphy.
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