Asiedu Nketiah opposes NDC elders; He insisted that consultations were done before the redistribution politics

The National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has rejected the advice of the Council of Elders of the NDC to all stakeholders to refrain from making public pronouncements following disagreements over the reshuffle of the minority leadership in Parliament.

Defying the advice of the Council of Elders, Mr. Asiedu Nketiah addressed a press conference in London and urged the NDC leadership to hold extensive consultations before deciding to reshuffle the minority leadership.

Why did we struggle to get an NDC speaker?

Mr. Asiedu Nketia said his priority as the NDC National Chairman is to see the NDC Parliamentary Caucus work together and cooperate with the Speaker of Parliament.

“Why did we struggle to elect an NDC person as Speaker of Parliament? Of course there are some advantages and those advantages can be reaped when your leadership cooperates with the Speaker. So we cannot have a situation where the NPP leadership cooperates. The Speaker and our NDC leadership have challenges cooperating with the Speaker.

“And if the leadership in parliament gives you a party that doesn’t work together, what do you do, you make changes or you resign, and I’m not going to resign,” Mr Asidu Nketiah said in defense of the restructuring. .

The Council of Elders of the NDC has urged all party faithful, including Members of Parliament (MPs), to be careful of their words regarding the recent changes to the minority leadership.

According to a letter to the Speaker of Parliament last week, it was learned that the NDC has replaced its leadership of Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah and Governors Kwame Agbodza with Haruna Idrisu, James Klutse Awedzi and Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka in the minority in Parliament. Leader, Deputy Minority Leader and Chief Whip.

The revelation was received with mixed opinions from various stakeholders of the party, with some NDC MPs signing a petition against the move.

73 of the 137 minority MPs have signed a petition calling for the NDC’s National Executive Committee to reverse the decision to restructure the minority leadership.

Any of the constitutional bodies of the NDC, i.e. Congress, National Executive Committee (NEC), Executive Committee (FEC), Council of Elders or the. Members of Parliament themselves said they were surprised by the decision.

Responding to the petition, the Council of Elders, in a press statement dated January 28, 2023, acknowledged that it had received it and agreed to work expeditiously with other related matters.

But at a press conference in the UK, Mr. Aseedu Nketia said, “For those who are saying that no one was consulted, I want to tell them that this is one of the most consultative decisions, everyone who needs to be consulted has been consulted.

“But the decision is our decision, the decision cannot be the decision of the advised people, I think that is clear.”

“If you are responsible for making a decision, you make your decision after consultation, so don’t blame the people you consulted, because everyone gives you their opinions and then you sit down to combine the opinions and then your decision may reflect some of the wishes of some of the people who consulted, but ultimately it comes down to your decision. .

“Suggestions are just the raw materials for a decision, but the final product is your work.”

“And as a leader, I take full responsibility for the decision, and I don’t want to blame anybody for that decision, I take full responsibility for the decision,” Mr Asidu Nketiah said.