The National Campaign Co-ordinator for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) during the just ended general election, Kofi Adams says he takes full responsibility for the party’s crashing defeat at the polls.
The ruling party’s candidate, President John Dramani Mahama lost the presidential election to the opposition New Patriotic Party candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo.
President Mahama polled 4,713,277 votes representing 44.40 per cent, while Nana Akufo-Addo polled 5,716,026 votes representing 53.85 per cent.
The NPP won 171 parliamentary seats as against the NDC’s 104 seats.
The NDC went into the elections with high hope having based their campaign on their massive infrastructure development and the personality of their flagbearer, President Mahama who was seeking a final second term, but got hugely disappointed by the margin of one million points difference.
Some political pundits and pollsters had also predicted a landslide victory for the ruling party but at the end of vote count they had a rude shock.
Many factors have been attributed to the defeat, with some political connoisseurs citing the arrogance of some party and government appointees, the neglect of the NDC foot soldiers, lack of logistics at grassroots and disunity in the party after its primaries.
But, Mr. Adams who is also the National Organiser of the NDC, has accepted responsibility for the defeat and urged party faithful to stop pointing accusing fingers at each other.
“It was our wish that the NDC was going to continue the great job it is doing but that did not happen and I personally take full responsibility for the defeat of our party and that of President Mahama,” Mr. Adams told an Accra-based radio station (Radio Gold), on Monday.
When asked what in his opinion contributed to the loss of the NDC, Mr. Adams stated, “I think there was a system failure,” insisting that the NDC had a “solid campaign strategy”.
In a riposte, Afrifa Yamoah Ponko, former Municipal Chief Executive for Ejisu Juabeng in the Ashanti Region blamed the defeat on the incompetence of the campaign team.
“I laughed it off when I heard Kofi Adams saying he should be blamed for our defeat, he should stop irritating our ears; why should he accept the blame, why did he accept to be the National Campaign Coordinator when he knew that he was going to fail us?
I mean why, it is an unforgivable sin. Andy Okrah and Kofi Adams need to be “hanged” for our defeat. They should have humbly rejected the offers when they were appointed. They have no excuse to give.”
“This defeat is a serious blow to us, we are now going to feel the impact of our loss, our supporters are being vilified, killed, beaten everyday by NPP supporters, watch the space, the harassment will be worst after the President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is sworn in office,” he lamented.