PNC dismisses dormancy claims
The leadership of the People’s National Convention (PNC) has dismissed assertions that the party is dormant.
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The party has, therefore, assured its rank and file and all well-wishers that under the leadership of Dr Edward Nasigre Mahama, the party is continuously committed and working very hard to rebrand.
The leadership was reacting to the assertion by the National Chairman of the party, Mr Bernard Mornah, that the party had become ‘dormant’ and was ‘headless’.
In an interview in the Daily Graphic last week, Mr Mornah indicated that “since Dr Mahama accepted a position in the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the PNC has become dormant.”
He stated that “the party is now headless, with no leadership,” but the Director of Communications of the PNC, Mr Emmanuel Wilson Jr., stated that the leadership was confident that sooner than later the PNC would be seen by all as the only alternative to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Positive effort
According to Mr Wilson, the national chairman’s utterances clearly seeks to mislead the public and misinform the rank and file of the PNC.
He stated that the comments should be ignored and treated with the contempt it deserved.
“The PNC national chairman has decided to mislead the public on the true state of the PNC, and it’s important that this hypocrisy is exposed,” Mr Wilson averred.
Mr Wilson asked whether Mr Mornah was not aware of the recent positive developments in the party or it is a position of someone who does not wish the party well.
“At the last National Executive Committee (NEC) and Standing Committee meetings, members agreed and committed themselves to the reorganisation of the party,” he stressed.
He said that led to the formation of a three-member committee charged with the mandate of developing a road map towards the strengthening and growth of the party.
“As we speak, this committee is deep into its mandate and members are confident of reporting at the party’s November 2017 meeting, as is expected of them,” he stated.
Committee members
Mr Wilson explained that all sub-committees of NEC had currently been fully activated and committee members were being guided into actively performing their mandate.
“This is something that the National Chairman failed to do since the party returned from its last congress. If indeed he is operating as a National Chairman of the PNC, he would have knowledge of these happenings, and will not make these misleading statements,” he declared.
The PNC’s director of communications wondered when Mr Mornah realised that “taking a position in any ruling government amounts to the inability of the party to strategise to unseat that government, since this is not the first time the party is taking an appointment in a ruling government.”
Mr Wilson said the PNC had consistently taken appointments in almost all the governments that this Fourth Republic had produced, and yet it had always been committed to its effort to form the next government through by participating in all national elections.
Background
The PNC has not found peace with itself and has suspended its General Secretary, Mr Atik Mohammed, for what the party explained as “gross misbehaviour, misconduct and violating the party’s constitution.”
Mr Mohammed was suspended after a vote of no confidence was passed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) at the party's extraordinary meeting held in Accra this year.
The statement signed by the PNC Communications Director, indicated that Mr Mohammed was accused of bringing the image of the party into disrepute.
It also cited Mr Mohammed’s repeated invectives against the 2016 Presidential Candidate, Dr Edward Mahama, at NEC meetings and added that he had also been discrediting Dr Mahama in public after he was appointed Ambassador at Large by the President.
Presidential results for 2016
In the 2016 election, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo garnered 5,697,093 votes representing 53.80 per cent.
President John Mahama got 4,701,162 votes, 44.40 per cent
Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom won 113,240 representing 1.07 per cent Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet got 25,076, representing 0.24 per cent .
Dr Edward Mahama was able to get 20,910 votes, representing 0.20 per cent, when he staged his fifth come back as Presidential candidate of the PNC, which was his worst performance,
Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings had 16,549 votes representing 0.16 per cent.
Parliamentary seats
The PNC at the inception of multi party democracy was a promising party with four parliamentary seats in the 1996 parliamentary election but this was reduced gradually to one seat which was held by Mr Alhassan Azong in the Builsa South Constituency.
However, in the 2016 election, Mr Azong lost the seat on the ticket of the PNC and the party has no more representation in Parliament