The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), through the alleged influence of former President Mahama, has excluded the former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, and former Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, from its national campaign team for the upcoming 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
The party’s General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, made this known following a meeting of the Functional Executive Committee on Tuesday.
Controversy
The exclusion of two leading NDC members, both of whom were unceremoniously removed from their parliamentary leadership roles earlier this year, has sparked significant controversy within the party.
Insiders suggest that Iddrisu and Muntaka were initially considered for inclusion in the campaign team, but were ultimately dropped due to accusations from some supporters of John Dramani Mahama, the party’s flagbearer, who alleged that the two are not loyal to the party’s presidential candidate.
In contrast, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, who succeeded Iddrisu as Minority Leader in a controversial reshuffle, described by some as a ‘coup d’état,’ has been given a prominent role in the campaign team.
The team features the party’s General Secretary as the Campaign Coordinator. Notably absent are other key party figures who vocally opposed the leadership changes that saw Iddrisu and Muntaka ousted.
The leadership change earlier this year caused significant unrest within the NDC, with many members, including MPs, protesting the decision. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, MP for Tamale Central, publicly criticized the party’s leadership, while other MPs, including Samuel Nartey George, called for the suspension of the decision.
Rifts
Efforts to mend the party’s internal rifts, including a meeting in Tamale, have been fraught with tension.
The Tamale meeting resulted in an assault on Sofo Azorka, the NDC’s National Vice-Chairman, and the Regional Treasurer, while National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia had to be escorted to safety.
In a show of protest against what they viewed as the unfair treatment of Haruna Iddrisu, MPs from the Northern Region, including Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Alhassan Suhuyini (Tamale North) and Alhassan Bashir Alhassan (ABA) Fuseini (Sagnarigu), alongside Iddrisu himself, boycotted the meeting.