The General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, has disclosed that the late former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, was on the verge of returning to the party before her death on Thursday, 23 October 2025.

“I wouldn’t say the talks were unsuccessful. I would rather say timing was the challenge. Because even on her part, you could clearly see that she was ready,” he told the media after leadership of the party visited the Rawlings to sympathise with them on Monday, October 27.

He noted that the NDC had long acknowledged her monumental role in the party’s founding and growth, emphasising that recent years had been spent working to heal old wounds.

“We have always maintained that, given her contribution to building this party and making it formidable, it was important to put past differences behind us. I am glad that before her passing, these reconciliation efforts had begun, and she welcomed them,” he added.

Nana Konadu, wife of the NDC’s founder and former President Jerry John Rawlings, was a defining force in the party’s formative years and a pioneering advocate for women’s empowerment through the 31st December Women’s Movement.

Following her defeat in the NDC’s 2011 presidential primary, she broke away to establish the National Democratic Party (NDP) in 2012.

Although disqualified from contesting that year’s general election, she later ran as the NDP’s presidential candidate in 2016.

Mr. Kwetey described Nana Konadu as a formidable and visionary leader whose courage, dedication, and advocacy for women would continue to inspire generations within and beyond the NDC.