Kwesi Botchwey asked to step down

A veteran politician, Madam Regina Alara, has graciously appealed to Dr Kwesi Botchwey to rescind his decision to contest for the flagbearership of the NDC to save the party from disintegration.

“In the interest of the party, I am pleading with Dr Botchwey to step down from the race for the flagbearership in order to unite the party,” she said.

Madam Alara, one-time Greater Accra Women’s Organiser of the National Convention Party (NCP) made the appeal when she called at the offices of The Evening News in Accra on Monday. She said supporters of Dr Botchwey knew very well that he is not a good presidential material and yet “they are using money to influence delegates to vote for him.”

The 75-year old Alara alleged that Madam Faustina Nelson, a leading member of the NDC, is among those who knew the shortcomings of Dr Botchwey and yet she is campaigning for him instead of condemning him. She alleged that it was this same attitude of Nelson when she was the national Women’s organiser of the NCP that led to the collapse of the party.

Alara claimed that when Faustina Nelson was the NCP’s Greater Accra Women’s organiser, she encouraged the imposition of Ebo Tawiah as the national chairman of the party. “Auntie Faustina did not reject this move and this led to the resignation of some prominent members like Capt Kojo Tsikata (rtd), John Tettegah and Roland Atta-Kessen,” she stressed.

Alara, who could hardly stand on her feet and had to support herself with a walking stick said she came to the offices of the paper to pour out her heart because some national executive members were bent on destroying the NDC. She therefore, advised Dr Botchwey not to be part of this “grand design”; rather he should rally solidly behind Prof Mills to enable the NDC to win the 2004 general elections.

Madam Alara’s political history dates back to the First Republic when she worked in the offices of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah as an intelligence officer. She worked directly under Dr Nkrumah’s personal security details like Boye Moses, M.A. Mensah and Ambrose Yankey.

She was also one of the members of the CPP who were detained after the 24 February 1966 coup d’tat that overthrew the Nkrumah regime. She was again detained for three months when Flt Lt. Jerry Rawlings staged the 31 December 1981 coup.