The new National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia has entreated all losing candidates in the just ended internal elections to see their defeat as an indication that the party needs them to serve in other capacities.
In a victory speech Sunday morning after the Electoral Commission declared the results and the new officers were sworn into office, Mr Nketia said: “We invite all other candidates who could not make it to the national executive to consider that this victory is a victory for NDC, and that their defeat is not a defeat in actual sense, but an indication that the party needs them to serve in other capacities and we will take the responsibility to make sure that the deployment of all human resources of this party, will be complete to position the party in battle readiness for victory in 2024.”
Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the immediate past General Secretary of the NDC unseated Samuel Ofosu Ampofo by a landslide victory to become the new Chairman of the largest opposition party in Ghana.
Mr Nketia vacated the General Secretary role to contest Mr Ampofo and polled 5,574 representing 65.17 percent of the valid votes cast to claim a landslide victory at the NDC’s 10th National Delegates Congress held at the Accra Sports stadium.
Mr Ampofo finished second with 2,892 votes representing 33.81 percent in what turned out to be a two-horse race with Nii Armah Ashitey and Samuel Yaw Adusei polling 38 and 52 votes respectively.
The new National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia has entreated all losing candidates in the just ended internal elections of the NDC to see their defeat as an indication that the party needs them to serve in other capacities.
In a victory speech Sunday morning after the Electoral Commission declared the results and the new officers were sworn into office, Mr Nketia said: “We invite all other candidates who could not make it to the national executive to consider that this victory is a victory for NDC and that their defeat is not a defeat in actual sense, but an indication that the party needs them to serve in other capacities and we will take the responsibility to make sure that the deployment of all human resources of this party, will be complete to position the party in battle readiness for victory in 2024.”
After the official declaration of the results and the swearing in of all the new national officers, Mr Asiedu Nketia delivered the following address.
Good morning to you all.
Your Excellency, President John Dramani Mahama, members of the Council of Elders present, my colleagues newly elected executives and comrades and footsoldiers.
On behalf of the newly elected national executive of the NDC and on my own behalf, we want to thank the good people of the NDC for entrusting this leadership positions to us.
It shows the confidence the party has in us.
We don’t take this confidence for granted, we see it as a call to duty.
The nation Ghana is in crisis and the party, National Democratic Congress is at the crossroads.
We are going to go into a difficult election, the first of its kind after the demise of our founder [Rawlings].
What we need most is unity.
We pledge on behalf of myself and on behalf of the newly elected executives, that in the coming days, our first assignment will be to work to unite the party and bring everybody who could not be endorsed today on board, even as we march forward to defeat the elephant and set the nation on the path of progress and prosperity again.
This morning, rather the morning of yesterday [Saturday], I had the opportunity to thank the good members of this party for entrusting to me the General Secretary of the party for 17 solid years.
The event that have happened today, indicate that the National Democratic Congress is not done with me yet.
I see this election as a call to duty. The duty is enormous, the opponent has imposed on us the duty to resist, because its been said that where ever impunity becomes law, resistance becomes a duty.
Looking at the array of the national executives elected today, I have no doubt in my mind that the party wishes us to carry the battle to the homes of the elephant, and we will do just that.
We cannot let the party down and we cannot let our country Ghana down.
The 2024 elections is not only an election for the sake of the National Democratic Congress, but more importantly, it is an election to regain the independence of this country.
As our forebears sacrificed to win independence from the colonial government, we believe that it is our time to continue the fight, to win the second independence of Ghana.
The path will not be smooth but we will stand up to the challenge and we are prepared to sacrifice everything, and I mean everything, including our lives to make sure that this country is delivered.
Today is not intended for long speeches, so I will like to thank all of you.
I will like to thank most importantly, Honourable Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, who has been my friend for 25 years. I value the friendship so I don’t think we are going to sacrifice that friendship because of this contest.
We invite all other candidates who could not make it to the national executive, to consider that this victory is a victory for NDC and that their defeat, is not a defeat in actual sense but an indication that the party needs them to serve in other capacities.
And we will take the responsibility to make sure that the deployment of all human resources of this party, will be complete to position the party in battle readiness for victory in 2024.
I will like to thank all of you and may God bless our homeland Ghana, long live NDC, long live Ghana.
Thank you very much and may God bless us all.
