Following recent heightened political tension ahead of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Central Regional Conference, calm has been restored across party ranks as the Regional Chairman, Professor Nana Richard Asiedu, stepped in to appeal for peace, unity, and strict decorum among all aspirants.
Addressing journalists in Accra ahead of the regional conference, Prof. Asiedu stressed that internal elections should build party strength rather than foster division, calling on all factions to channel their energy toward securing electoral dominance for the ruling party.
“We are NDCs, and we are doing what is described as an internal party vacancy filling,” Prof. Asiedu reminded the gathering. “So you can’t destroy your own colleague or your friend and later go back to the person to move forward. The advice I would give to our opponents within that is the NDC aspirants is that when you go to the grounds, you have to preach what you can do and what you can help the party to achieve, but not to denigrate and destroy the image of others.”
Preserving Unity for the Main Battle
Emphasizing that internal squabbles only benefit opposition parties, the Regional Chairman urged candidates across all levels to remain focused on the ultimate goal: defeating their main political opponent, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Prof. Asiedu warned that personal attacks during internal campaigns make post-election reconciliation difficult and directly compromise the party’s readiness for future national elections.
“Our common enemy or major opponent is the NPP,” he declared. “If you denigrate others, after the elections it will be difficult to reconcile with the opponent. It will affect the unity that we are searching for, it will affect us moving forward, and it will delay us in the progress for winning the elections.”
He concluded his appeal for peace with a direct charge to all party stakeholders:
“So I beg everybody along the chain from the branch, from the constituency, the region, national, and the presidential primaries periodneverybody should be circumspect in whatever he or she says so that it will not come back to haunt us in the elections.”
Consolidating Gains in the Central Region
Turning to the party’s long-term performance, Prof. Asiedu reminded delegates of the immense effort required to transform the region from a traditional swing area into a reliable electoral stronghold.
He recounted the financial and operational challenges his leadership team tackled upon taking office, pointing to substantial growth in parliamentary and presidential support across the region under his tenure.
“I came with my team to meet 13 parliamentary seats, of which I increased it to 18 plus one, including coming 8-plus seats,” Prof. Asiedu highlighted. “And also increased the presidential constituencies from 4 to 21. When we came, we met a very weak party—lack of finance, things were very difficult. But you have to put in a lot of resources, especially for myself, to make sure that the party stands and stands firm.”
With the regional conference set to anchor the party’s future strategy, the Chairman reiterated his resolve to ensure the region remains a firm base for the NDC:
“With the kind of help and support that has been given to Central Region in terms of leadership, there should be no way Central could be described as a swing region. It is one of my major aims to make sure that Central Region wins more seats in the area of presidential and both parliamentary, so that the region becomes a stronghold, but no more a swing region.”
