Ekwow Spio-Garbrah
Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, who is vying to become the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2020 presidential election, has criticized the Unity Walk being held in various parts of the country by some members of the party under the leadership of former President John Dramani Mahama.
According to the former First Vice Chairman of the party, the Unity Walk is creating divisions in the party.
The former vice chairman of the NDC disclosed that the Unity Walk has not been officially sanctioned by the party.
He asserted that some leaders of the NDC want to use the Unity Walk to achieve their objectives.
The former trade minister, during a yet-to-be aired interview on TV3, noted that “I have been a vice chairman of the party and when the party wants to embark on any exercise, we sit as members of the National Executive Committee and say we shall do the following and the party would fund it. But then those walks are not currently being organized by the party as NDC, but then people are.”
Mr Spio-Garbrah said he and other presidential aspirants such as Prof Joshua Alabi were not given the opportunity to address gathering during the much-touted Unity Walk, saying that “that is what made some of us feel that the walk is not as unifying as it was announced or said to be.”
The former Minister of Communications said that the Unity Walk is hampering the re-organisation of the party, adding that some members of the party were using the Unity Walk to mobilize supporters at the grassroots level for an individual to market himself.
The Unity Walks have been organized in various parts of the country, with the most recent being organized in Wa in the Upper West Region.
Conversely, many critics believe the Unity Walk is part of the strategies of former President Mahama campaign to reorganise his support base and re-energise party faithful to win the NDC flagbearship position after he suffered humiliating defeat in the 2016 general elections.
Former President Jerry John Rawlings has stated that it would be impossible for NDC to defeat the NPP in 2020 owing to the various laudable policies being implemented.
Some supporters of the aspirants are unhappy with attempts by the leadership to give former President John Mahama undue advantage other aspirants.
Though John Mahama has not officially declared his intention to lead the party into the 2020 elections for the third successive time, the aggrieved party supporters believe he’s nursing that ambition.
Some said the Unity Walk would provide the opportunity for some presidential hopefuls to sell their messages to the delegates.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema