After electoral mauling-SPIO TO PICK NIGHT PLANE TO UK

After being muffled with defeat at yesterday's presidential primaries at the delegates' congress of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), shattering his presidential ambitions, Mr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, is most unlikely to remain in the shores of Ghana for long.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO) would most likely emplane to the United Kingdom via a night plane to resume work.

Spio-Garbrah, the man who did not compromise his advertising expertise by openly advertising his desperation for securing the party's presidential ticket, through his consistent attacks on and questioning of the electoral viability of Professor John Evans Atta Mills, former Vice President, whose victory he predicted would secure the NDC a third time electoral defeat, was so intelligent to secure another five-year contract with the CTO, even before wading into the NDC presidential waterloo.

Clearly, Spio, through his campaign messages, revealed his total lack of confidence in Prof. Mills and openly declared him as someone who was definitely not going to secure victory for the party - perhaps, leaving the NPP to do only half of the job it may otherwise have to do to win the 2008 election, even if it ended up picking Dr. Addo Kufuor or Nana Akufo Addo as its flagbearer.

For a number of times, there were clear incidences indicating how the relationship between Mills and Spio had been marred during the campaigns. At the party's gathering at the Teacher's Hall last week, which was Christened 'a family meeting', for instance, Spio shook hands with two of his contenders leaving out Mills, a development that nearly marred the beauty of the function.

At the same function, Mills managed a quick riposte to Spio, when the younger Spio sought to create the impression that Mills was too old and ought to be substituted with a fresh, youthful and exuberant candidate like him. Mills' reply was, “if the old ones are playing and the young ones are still on the bench, then you should know that there is something wrong.”

Analysts are of the view that, considering how the 63-year-old Associate Professor of Law may feel hurt by the pronouncements of his former Communications Director, he may not be able to comply with his own pre-congress crusade for peaceful co-existence among candidates after the congress.

Though not a possibility, a President Mills would not consider offering Spio a Ministerial position, which the latter himself would likely reject, even if such offer was extended to him, considering the enviable nature of his current multi-billion cedi CTO job, compared to that of a Ghanaian Minister - a position he held in the regime of the NDC.

While Spio may by now be considering when and with which flight to leave for the United Kingdom (the flights are usually by night anyway), Eddie Annan, the business tycoon of Massai group of companies fame, might be putting together his business ideas, not for running the nation as a president, but for rebuilding his dwindled business empire, he took leave from, after plunging so much resources into his campaigning.

Mr. Annan, who openly introduced himself at yesterday's congress, as the one who had been lubricating the party from behind scenes, would therefore be preoccupied with his business concerns and would definitely not lubricate a Mills' campaign as he did in the two previous elections in 2000 and 2004.

It is almost certain that at 70, Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, the former Defence Minister and the sole non-Fante to have battled for the flagbearship position in the history of the NDC, would not have the physical requirements to play any active role in the campaigning of the Professor, even if he (Iddrisu) goes by his pre-congress promise to remain loyal to any candidate who emerged victorious at congress.

Already, Chronicle intelligence has it that the former Communications Minister underthe NDC regime, and currently, Communications Director of the party, is penciled for running alongside Prof. mills on the party's ticket.

People like Kwamena Ahwoi and Totobi Quakyi, who are known political strategists for the NDC have taken the back seat now. The former is currently devoting much of his time to academic pursuits at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) with the latter being quiet in recent times presumably due to some recent health hiccups.