Former MP for Kumbungu Ras Mubarak has said “the decision to appoint new party leaders in parliament won’t be reversed”. 

“No amount of petitions and press conferences would change that”, he said in a Facebook post in reference to a petition filed by some minority MPs against the replacement of Haruna Iddrisu with Dr Cassiel Ato Forson as minority leader. 

In the ex-MP’s view, it is “better we focus energies on winning political power and help build our country”, noting: “Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn moved from the front Bench to the back bench” and the “Heavens did not break loose”. 

“We can’t build a strong party with this entitlement mentality”, he warned, pointing out: “We have a duty to help Ato Forson and his team succeed as our new party Leaders in parliament”.

He said “in a time like this, what we require is maturity and not emotions and tantrums. We elected Chairman Asiedu Nketia believing that he and the team would take some good but tough decisions. They may be doing just that”. 

Mr Mubarak said it is “important” to give Mr Asiedu Nketia and the rest of the team “the benefit of doubt, respecting the soundness of their judgment”.

To him, the signal the National Chairman and his team are sending is that “the NDC is different from the NPP. The NPP is the only party where non-performance is rewarded”. 

“Have we not had cause to complain about the soundness of the decisions of the previous leaders and a need for changes ahead of 2024?” he wondered.

“For those who are up in arms against the reshuffle, what moral authority would they have to question the continued stay in office of the likes of Ken Ofori-Atta, who’s run the country to the ground through his wrong-headed economic policies, goaded by the president and the economic management team?”

He recalled that in the 7th Parliament, some people wanted Mahama Ayariga to be Minority Leader while others wanted Muntaka Mubarak even though others rooted for Haruna Iddrisu. 

“Who consulted us in the 7th Parliament when that decision was taken? In the end, the party’s wisdom was respected. And the leaders got the very maximum support”, he said. 

“We expect the same level of cooperation and support for the new leaders, and the party must not hesitate to quash any revolt including disqualifying rebel MPs from running on its ticket if this small rebellion continues”, he proposed.

Mr Mubarak said in 2017, when the decision about who leads the NDC in parliament was taken, “I said then, based on my observations of other parliaments around the world, that there ought to be reforms where MPs elect from their ranks, who leads them. The idea was rubbished. So, why must a similar scenario be too hard to swallow?” 

“We need power. Asking for the decision to be reversed is bizarre”, he indicated, insisting: “Such flip-flopping would be more fatal, with disastrous consequences to the tenure of the Asiedu Nketia-led executives. It’s a bait to get them to start on a catastrophic note”. 

“If we truly want power, we must put this behind us and rally behind the Ato Forson-led Minority group”, he urged the party

He said the NDC is bigger than any individual in the party. 

“We can’t have on our hands a situation where hell breaks loose when seemingly untouchables are reshuffled. It would be disastrous for a future NDC government. We can weather this storm together. Let people come to terms with the fact that the ship has sailed, and use their energies towards kicking out the NPP, whose tenure has been nothing but a calamitous failure”.