Editorial

Turmoil in NDC must cease

On Wednesday, the news came in that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had reshuffled its leadership in parliament.

Following the change, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Member of Parliament for Tamale-South and NDC’s Minority Lead­er, has been replaced by Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the MP for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam and former Deputy Minister of Finance.

Likewise Mr James Klutsey Avedzi, MP for Ketu North, the Deputy Minority Leader, is being replaced by Mr Emman­uel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembele Constituency, while Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu Constituency replaces Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, MP for Asawase in the Ashanti Re­gion, as the Chief Whip.

However, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim and Comfort Doyo-Ghansah, First and Second Deputy Whips respec­tively, have maintained their positions.

Some sources within the party say the affected per­sonalities were consulted before the changes were effected and according­ly communicated to the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Bagbin.

The changes have sparked mixed reactions from the party’s front in the law-making house, some other members of the party and non-party sources such as social commentators.

For instance, media reports have it that Mr Edwin Nii Lante Van­derpuye, the MP for the Odododiodoo Constit­uency in the Accra me­tropolis and one of the leading members of the Minority caucus, says the reshuffle has come to him as a surprise because neither he nor the caucus was aware of any such reshuffle or a letter sent to the Speaker to that effect.

This seems to be con­firmed by the ‘outgoing’ Chief Whip, Mr Munta­ka, as he claims that the Minority leadership were not consulted before the announcement of their re­moval from office, neither was the entire parliamen­tary caucus consulted.

He argued that the right thing to do was to have consulted the entire Mi­nority caucus before any such decision.

He even dared to say: “I would be very happy to be mentioning which elder was sent to me to talk to me, because no elder spoke to me.”

Meanwhile, there are reports of a letter ad­dressed to Mr Avedzi, the ‘outgoing’ Deputy Minori­ty Leader, informing him about the party’s decision, which presupposes that there are letters for or to other affected personali­ties.

Currently, 73 out of the 137 Minority MPs in the country’s hung parliament have signed a petition ask­ing the National Executive Committee of the NDC

 to reverse the decision to reshuffle the Minority leader­ship. We can recollect that Dr Forson has called for calm and we think whether the decision to reshuffle will be reversed or carried out, the best thing to do is ensure calm in the NDC.

Political parties, whether in government or opposition, need some peace and tranquil­ity to function well.

This is because besides the rule of law and institutions of democracy, these parties constitute one of the pillars of governance.

The NDC needs this atmo­sphere of peace and tranquil­ity more than any time in its history because here is a party preparing to wrest power in 2024 in circumstances differ­ent from its previous experi­ences.

Besides, the party should not forget its role as a responsible opposition party which should put the government on its toes for the benefit of the entire country

Therefore, everything pos­sible must be done to stop the simmering turmoil in the NDC

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