NDC dreads Mac Manu

The former Western Regional chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nana Alex Asamoah, has observed that though his party has a 90% chance of winning the 2008 elections, they would find it very tough and rough if Mr. Peter Mac-Manu became the national chairman of NPP.

He conceded that Mac Manu has exceptional organizational skills and if he should carry it to the national level in his capacity as the national chairman of the ruling party, things would not be easy for the NDC. He has therefore called on the supporters of the party to start coming out with new organizational skills so that should Mac Manu win to become the boss of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the NDC would not find it too difficult to contain him.

Speaking in an interview with The Chronicle at the just ended western regional delegate congress of the party, where Dr. John Abu, a former minister, was elected as the new regional chairman of the party in Sekondi last Saturday, Nana Asamoah said he knew what he was talking about because he had worked with Mac Manu and saw what he did to them in the western region.

"Let me be honest with you, the man is a moving chairman who actually gave us a hell of a time during the last elections and if such a person becomes the national chairman of the ruling party, then we have a lot of work to do," he said.

According to Alex Asamoah, who, despite calls on him to contest the post again, refused to do so because he wanted to move up to the national level, it was Mac Manu who turned the votes in the Shama constituency at the last hour in favour of the NPP when everybody knew Ms. Emelia Arthur was on the verge of winning the seat.

He said though Mac was his opponent, he has conceded that the man has good organizational skills and that it would have been his wish that the NDC avoided him but if he won, the NDC would have to work hard to turn the scales in their favour. "We don't know who is going to win; so this is the time we have to strategize well and be battle ready for the 2008 elections," he added.

The election itself was nearly marred with violence when supporters of the eventual winner, Dr. Abu, threatened to disrupt the congress if their candidate was not allowed to contest.

A day to the election, Dr. Abu had gone on air to announce that he was no more going to contest because of the bickering going on in the party.

Despite this claim by the former Western Regional and Energy Minister, his supporters submitted his filled forms to the party executives but were not signed by Dr. Abu himself.

To avoid any future court proceedings, Nana Alex Asamoah insisted that the elections would not go on until Dr. Abu turned up to sign the form.

The decision held up proceedings at the congress for well over two hours with the national executives of the party, in the persons of Bede Ziedene and Lee Ocran holding consultations with Alex Asamoah and his regional executives.

Later Dr. Frank Abu himself arrived at the venue and expressed his desire to contest the election, which was a battle between him and his former deputy, Mr. Seidu Paaku Adamu. He subsequently endorsed the forms with his signature before proceedings were allowed to start.

Addressing the delegates, Prof. Mills, who gave a personal donation of 10million cedis for the organization of the congress and Mr. Lee Ocran, an MP for Jomoro, both expressed concern about the division among the leading members of the party in the region and called for a truce. The two advised the party supporters that without unity, they could not win the 2008 elections and that they should all agree to disagree.

The election, which ran into the night due to the earlier confusion, saw Dr. Frank John Abu beating his former deputy, Seidu Adamu, to become the new regional chairman of the party. The positions of secretary and organizer went to Messrs.

J. R. D. Cobinah, a former DCE for Nzema East and Col. (RTD) Kaku Korsah, also a former mayor of Sekondi-Takoradi unopposed.

Mr. Mahama Fuseini, a director of Sekondi Hasaacas and Nana Toku, a Tarkwa-based businessman, beat their opponents to become vice chairmen with Mr. Solomon Nkansah, a popular panelist on KYYZ FM, emerging as the new regional youth organizer.

The post of the regional women's organizer went to Ms. Anita Esi Bonful with Jefred Baidoo, a former leader of Takoradi Polytechnic TEIN, becoming the new regional propaganda secretary.