National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has defended the party’s controversial decision to replace Haruna Iddrisu and Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka as Minority Leader and Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament ahead of the 2024 general elections, describing the move as a strategic political decision aimed at strengthening the NDC’s electoral chances.

Speaking during the NDC’s Thank You Tour in the Tamale South Constituency of the Northern Region, Mr Asiedu Nketia said the changes were never personal or intended to sideline the two senior party figures, but were part of broader tactical adjustments required to position the party for victory.

According to him, political leadership sometimes demands difficult decisions based on the direction of political competition and the strategies adopted by opponents.

Describing his chairmanship position as that of a coach in a team, he said he had to watch how the opponents were playing “so that I can also arrange my team for us to be able to win.”

Mr Asiedu Nketia explained that he had maintained a long-standing relationship with Haruna Iddrisu and rejected suggestions that the reshuffle reflected hostility or division within the party leadership.

“Haruna Iddrisu has been my brother. We have worked together,” he said.

“In fact, when I made him Minority Leader, there were people in the party who criticised me for choosing my friend.”

He disclosed that as the 2024 elections approached, he became convinced the NDC needed to reorganise its parliamentary leadership to respond effectively to emerging political dynamics.

“I said we had to change the forward line of Parliament. Otherwise, it would be difficult for us to win the elections,” he explained.

Mr Asiedu Nketia revealed that even then-presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama initially disagreed with the proposal, but he insisted the decision fell within his responsibility as National Chairman overseeing the party’s electoral strategy.

“You elected me as chairman of this party. I am the coach of the party going into the election, so let me make the changes that will help us win,” he recounted.

The NDC Chairman admitted the decision generated significant backlash within sections of the party, with some interpreting the changes as evidence of personal disagreements between himself and the two former parliamentary leaders.

“There was hell,” he said.

He said people started thinking that somebody who had been his friend for more than 20 years had suddenly become his enemy. “But how can Haruna become my enemy? He cannot become my enemy,” he explained.

Mr Asiedu Nketia, however, stressed that the party’s eventual electoral performance vindicated the strategic choices that had been made.

He said the changes won for the party one of the biggest victories Ghana has seen in the Fourth Republic.

Despite the leadership changes, he emphasised that neither Haruna nor Muntaka had been abandoned or diminished within the party hierarchy.

According to him, after the NDC’s electoral victory, he personally advised President Mahama that both men remained important assets to the party and deserved significant roles in government.

“After winning, I told President Mahama that we could not ignore Muntaka and Haruna in the formation of government,” he said. “They needed to be given major positions, and President Mahama agreed.”

Mr Asiedu Nketia said the two senior politicians continue to work closely with the party leadership and cautioned supporters in the Northern Region against creating factional divisions around personalities.

“If people in the Tamale area are creating groups like Haruna group, Asiedu Nketia group and so on, that is not our position. That is your own issue in Tamale, not ours,” he said.

“We are working together.”

He further urged party supporters to place the collective interest of the NDC above internal disagreements, noting that political competition within parties was inevitable but should not be allowed to weaken the organisation.

He said there will always be struggles for positions. At times some people will be happy while others will not, but at the end of the day, all must protect the vehicle that carries the people together.

“We should not allow our differences to destroy the NDC,” he counseled.

NPP removes Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu in response

Former MP for Suame, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, then Majority Leader and considered a kingpin in the affairs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), was forcibly removed (officially, he resigned) in a controversial manner by his party and replaced with Afenyo-Markin. That action saw the otherwise open and friendly Suame legislator become a reserved individual and an observer within the party.

The decision did not only confuse political watchers. The legislator was apparently confused also, and he was later to reveal why the party took that decision, when he also learned same.

Appearing on Ekosii Sen on Asempa FM, he told programme host Osei Bonsu (OB), that while the decision confounded him, he was later told by President Akufo-Addo that the move was a strategy to counter the NDC.

He said at the time, the NDC had elected John Mahama as its presidential candidate, but he had yet to nominate a running mate. Per the NPP’s calculations, they were certain Mahama was going to pick Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, from the Central region, as his running mate.

According to Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Akufo-Addo indicated that the NPP lacked visibility in the Central Region, where the party’s strength was also declining.

This was at a time when the now Finance Minister, Ato Forson, from the Central Region, had replaced Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader, and with the running mate also likely to emerge from the same region, there was the need for a rethink, hence the plot to replace him.

He said that per the party’s regulations, its parliamentary leadership is chosen by the parliamentary caucus rather than any other body, but he did not want to prolong matters and so he gave in.