Coming rapidly in the wake of congratulating President Mahama for the decision to rename the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) as the John Evans Atta-Mills University of Health and Allied Sciences after the late President who established it, another decision to honor the Founder of the NDC, has been highly praised.
According to Koku Anyidoho, an aide and Spokesperson for President Atta-Mills, and a former Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, “The decision is a very excellent one and adds more vindication to my long-held unwavering position that we must honor our past Leaders appropriately.”
Koku Anyidoho said, “Building the NDC HQ was one of the earliest decisions of President Atta-Mills after leading the party to victory in the 2008 general elections, and it stands as a towering legacy of the late President Atta-Mills”.
The decision to name the Adabraka NDC HQ after the Founder of the party, the late President Jerry John Rawlings, was announced by the Chairman, Johnson Kwadwo Asiedu-Nketiah at the 46th gathering to commemorate the June 4, 1979 Uprising that first made JJ Rawlings Head of State of Ghana.
According to Mr. Anyidoho, “The move is a very healthy one and now that we are doing the right things by honoring our past Leaders, in due season, it will not be difficult to honor the current Leader and future Leaders appropriately “
“My issues have been with what seemed like a nonchalant attitude towards honoring Presidents Rawlings and Atta-Mills, and now that as a party, we are taking very forward-looking decisions with great potential of uniting us better under the Umbrella, why shouldn’t I be happy? I am very pleased”.
Making the point further, Koku Anyidoho said, “It is also good to hear the Chairman say that the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) will seek the approval of the National Executive Committee (NEC) on the matter. It means due consultation is being done to hem in all loose ends”.
Asked if he is not worried about the building not being named after President Atta-Mills who built it, this is what Koku said. “President Atta-Mills never downplayed the relevance of the Founder and was always grateful to the Founder for making him running mate in 1996 – leading to his becoming Vice President and eventually becoming President in 2009. Indeed, given the opportunity, President Mills himself would not have hesitated to name the building after Rawlings, so I have no issues at all with the decision. The Founder is the Founder, and nobody can change that fact of history, so Let’s wear a more positive attitude and move into the future with greater optimism”.
The NDC, which was founded in 1992, has JJ Rawlings as the Party’s Founder and his ideals are what is supposed to be the philosophy of the Party.
