Former National Organizer of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Yaw Boateng Gyan, has hit back at those who believe he has personal scores to settle with the twice-defeated Presidential Candidate of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama, asking his critics to first find out if the former president is “pro-Yaw Gyan”.
Mr Boateng Gyan, who confess his support for former Finance Minister Dr Kwabena Duffuor – should the latter declare his intention to contest – as the next flagbearer of the opposition party, said his action is premised on the fact that Mr Mahama once “sponsored Kofi Adams to unseat him” as the NDCs National Organizer.
Speaking on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, he asserted that former President Mahama went ahead to financially strengthen Kofi Adams, for reasons he cannot fathom, to not only contest against him, but ensured that he (Yaw Gyan) lost in that infamous internal elections.
This is in spite of the fact that he [Boateng Gyan] was among those who stood for former President Mahama to go unopposed after the death of President Mills, he revealed.
“. . . when Prof Mills died, I was one of those who insisted that Mahama must go unopposed in Kumasi and after he became the President, he sponsored Kofi Adams to kick me out of my position when I was contesting for re-election. People said it at that time but I didn’t believe it but now I believe it due to what is happening. There is this speculation that Mahama and I are not on good terms but I don’t know what I have done to wrong him,” he said.
He also accused the former President of driving away seasoned and accomplished executives from his inner circle and surrounding himself with new and youthful people, yet has not been successful in his two attempts to regain power.
“Some people surrounding Mahama succeeded in driving all of us away except Asiedu Nketia, but still, Mahama has not been able to win the election again and I wonder why he won’t change the people around him . . . it is the party that is the loser in the long term and we cannot say that we are solely going to rely on one person to lead in elections. Besides, the party’s constitution does not prevent others from contesting the Flagbearership,” he indicated.
To him, there is nothing wrong with supporting his friend Dr Kwabena Duffuor to contest the NDC Flagbearer race, as Kofi Adams – who is currently the Member of Parliament for Buem Constituency in the Oti Region – once supported former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings against the late President Atta Mills.
He, however, warned editors of some Pro-Mahama Newspapers to desist from writing “nonsense” about him, and vow to stand up to anyone who just joined the party seeking to “intimidate” him.
“What kind of intimidation is this? Why do some people who joined the party along the way want to push us out? . . . we have suffered for the establishment of the party and nobody can drive me away. If I am anti-JM and so what? Have they investigated to find out if JM is pro-Yaw Gyan?”
“ . . we are losing quality leaders in the party and so if he [Duffuor] has decided to come to sacrifice himself for the party and save the party, what is wrong with it? We have reduced political activism to youthful exuberance. We are just toying with governance,” he fumed.
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Source: Peacefmonline.com