Ghana Public Eye
Dear Honourable Julius Debrah,
I pray this letter meets you well and strong. Permit me to use this chance to ask for God’s continuous favour in your life. I have been your great secret admirer for a long time although the opportunity to meet you has never availed itself. I pray that one day I will get the chance to meet with you.
I have chosen to write this piece of letter to you because recently I read a disclaimer you wrote to put to rest the rumour going round that you are lobbying to be made John Mahama’s running mate for the 2024 general elections. In that letter you cautioned all your fans to end the lobbying and allow President Mahama to decide.
I fully endorse your decision and applaud you for such a courageous step. I however observed that since your disclaimer, there has been intensified efforts to stampede your name in the minds of the Ghanaian public. The initiatives around this cannot be said to be without your tacit support, and with that I’m confused as to whether your letter was intended to achieve the opposite effect.
I like you as a person especially because you are warm and affable but I honestly don’t think those campaigning for you to be considered as John Mahama’s running mate are doing you any good. Frankly, it does not make sense for a person widely considered to be one of the confidants and advisors of John Mahama to have a public campaign waged on his behalf for John Mahama to pick him as running mate.
In other words, John Mahama knows you better than anybody else. In fact, of all the names going round for running mate position, none is closer to Mahama than you. Not even Prof. Jane Naana can claim to be closer to Mahama as you are. So the question is why would you have such intense public campaigns in order to catch the attention of John Mahama? A part of me feels you want the public to stampede Mahama to choose you, but that in itself raises concerns about why John Mahama would not naturally choose you but wait to be pushed through your campaigns.
Whatever the case may be, I would prefer that you hasten slowly because the variables needed for the choice of running mate for NDC do not favour you for a number of reasons.
First, Eastern Region where you hail from is not an NDC stronghold and there are chances that rewarding that Region with the position of running-mate will dampen the enthusiasm of party supporters and sympathizers from other regions who may feel deserving, and that can cost the NDC an election it otherwise means to win.
Second, the NDC and John Mahama have just chosen an election director for the party in its preparations for the 2024 elections. Like you, the new election Director comes from Eastern Region so any attempt to reward Eastern region with another position, not least that of the vice presidency will spark fire that will consume the chances of the NDC in the coming elections. Keep in mind that Seth Terkper who has been widely blamed by NDC people for decision that resulted in the NDC’s defeat is from the Eastern Region too, so the odds against the Region and by extension you, are too many.
Third, when John Mahama lost the 2016 elections it had an election Director in the person of Ofosu Ampofo from the Eastern Region, and when he lost again in 2020, the party’s chairman was from Easter Region too. Clearly, the star of victory for the party is not in sync with this Eastern Region thing. It is fair to say that Eastern Region has not been able to justify the confidence NDC and John Mahama have reposed in it, hence it makes no sense to travel the same road again. Let’s simply look elsewhere, it’s not your fault, but it is just how things have played out so far.
Fourth, you were the chief of staff of the Mahama government when the party was disastrously defeated in 2016 elections. Many of us still feel the pains from that defeat, and will be an insult to Ghanaians if Mahama rewards you with a position that will be considered an upward review for your performance. As you know, Chief of Staff is virtually the number three position in the political executive, and everybody expected you to use that position to secure victory for the NDC in 2016 but our hopes evaporated into thin air. So you can imagine how much apathy will greet the rank and file of our party if you are mistakenly chosen for the running-mate position.
Finally, you have noticed that a key member of the former Atta Mills government has dared John Mahama to pick you as running mate. That individual has access to sensitive and damning information from the NPP about some occurrences involving you and the NPP soon after the NDC was dislodged from power, as well as, files on your stay in the US containing some records you would not want discussed in public.
The whole Ghana wants NDC and John Mahama back. I really wish that you stay out of this running-mate business and support John Mahama and the NDC in any way possible, after all there is nothing you cannot get or do with John Mahama as president. It will help a great deal if you can spare the party with that potentially embarrassing experience.
Your Greatest Admirer,
Cadre Maxwell Osei Kwame
Abetifi, Eastern Region.
