Failed National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer hopeful and former mayor of Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu, says he knew from the onset of the NDC’s May 13 primaries that he could not defeat former President John Dramani Mahama.
“To be honest, I didn’t believe I could beat former President Mahama from the start, but I was hoping that maybe people would change their minds and vote for me,” he said in an interview on Face to Face on Citi TV.
He indicated that his decision to contest the former president was to make the party stronger and to demonstrate that there is democracy within the NDC.
He added that if he hadn’t challenged Mr. Mahama, “we would not have known that there are problems down there because there are areas that he wouldn’t have visited. But because of these primaries, he [Mr. Mahama] went everywhere. Normally, he would only focus on certain regions, but now he has been everywhere.”
Speaking about former Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and his contributions leading up to the primaries, as well as his eventual withdrawal from the race, Mr. Bonsu said, “he is my senior man, I respect him for what he has achieved in life, and I don’t have any issues with him. He has his own way of doing things, and he is entitled to his actions.”
“I did agree with him on the photo album, but I didn’t think he should have taken the matter to court. It was an internal issue that we could have resolved internally. It wasn’t a serious problem. He could have gone to court earlier, but waiting until the last minute gives the impression that you have ulterior motives to disrupt many things,” added Mr. Bonsu.
John Mahama swept 98.9% of the votes at the party’s May 13 primaries to become the NDC’s flagbearer for the 2024 general elections.
