According to a 2020 presidential aspirant of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alban Kingsford Sumani Bagbin, “NDC Members of Parliament are supporting former President Mahama out of gratitude.”
Speaking to the Pulse, a Joy News analysis programme on MultiTV on Monday, the NDC Presidential hopeful argued that contrary to perceptions that former President Mahama is highly-tipped to win the party’s bid to lead it in the 2020 elections, the seeming support appears to have been procured by appointments he (former President Mahama) offered these supporters during his days as President.
Additionally, he said threats and intimidation are being used by persons aligned to the former president against those who dissent from his second coming bid.
But he claims to be unfazed since the verdict on former President Mahama’s popularity and competence has longed been passed in 2016 when he led the party to what many have described as an embarrassing defeat.
It would be recalled that the NDC has come up for intense public scrutiny and criticism following events at its recent Congress and astronomical filing fees it imposed on its presidential hopefuls.
The use of campaign songs of the former President and allowing him to address the opening and closing sessions of the Congress have all been cited as acts aimed at favouring him ahead of his colleague aspirants during the Congress.
However asserting his own popularity, the NDC presidential hopeful, who is also the Third Deputy Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, believes that he is more popular. Unfortunately, this is not public information because his supporters render their support to him secretly for fear of being victimized.
Source: ghanaweb.com