Former President John Mahama has been endorsed as the 2020 flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) by a flagbearer aspirant Stephen Atubiga who has withdrawn from the race.

A letter addressed to the NDC General Secretary Johnson Aseidu Nketia confirmed his withdrawal on the last day for the submission of presidential nomination forms Tuesday.

This was after he failed to return the nomination papers he had paid 20,000 cedis for.

Stephen Atubiga was reported to be struggling to gather the required signatures from all 275 constituencies across the country.

He had also, along with several other aspirants, complained about the hefty increase in filing fees which was initially pegged at 400,000 cedis but later reduced by a 100,000 cedis

Stehpen Atubiga rose to national attention after he was jailed three days for criminal contempt during the election petition hearing at the Supreme Court in 2013.

Explaining his decision to pull out and back Mahama, Mr. Atubiga said it was easy to choose the former president because he had gone to jail for him while he was in office.

Former President John Mahama in November 2017 called Atubiga his favourite flagbearer aspirant as he tried to be coy about his own political future after losing the 2016 presidential elections. 

Stephen Atubiga’s failure to file brings to three the number of times he failed to launch a successful political campaign after two failed NDC parliamentary primaries in Binduri constituency in the Upper East Region in 2011 and 2015.

His decision to contest for flagbearer had been ridiculed on social media as a humour-laden addition to a serious leadership contest.

And he did provide humour in a jab at former president John Mahama in August 2018, stating the presidency is not a sexual encounter to ask for another round.

Photo: Former President John Mahama

Pulling out of the contest comes as no surprise for many political observers. The electrician follows a lawyer, Elikplim Agbemava, who also pulled out to back former President Mahama.

Their pullout is not expected to add much to the fortunes of a candidate who is believed to be the front-runner in the upcoming presidential primaries.

That race is expected to come off January 26, 2019 and the field has been narrowed to six aspirants pending clearance by the party’s election committee.

The aspirants who have filed their nomination papers are former President John Mahama, Prof. Joshua Alabi, Dr. Ekwow Spio Garbrah, Alban S.K Bagbin, Goosie Tanoh and Nurideen Iddrisu.