By Nana Koranteng
Confusion is brewing within the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) following revelations that the party’s National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, is preparing to embark on a nationwide “Thank You Tour,” beginning in the Eastern Region.
The move has sparked controversy in the inner circles of the NDC, with some high-ranking officials openly criticizing the chairman’s decision. In interviews, they argued that “thank-you tours” are traditionally reserved for sitting presidents, vice presidents, presidential candidates, or parliamentary candidates who have recently contested elections.
According to the aggrieved executives, a party chairman embarking on such a tour could blur roles within the NDC, fuel unnecessary divisions, and even create the impression of parallel leadership at a time when party unity is crucial ahead of the 2028 general elections.
One senior party insider cautioned:
“Chairman Asiedu Nketia risks destabilizing the NDC. Thank-you tours are not for party administrators. They are meant to consolidate electoral goodwill after contests, not to showcase internal power.”
The controversy has reopened old wounds within the NDC, where leadership battles and tensions between the party’s executive and parliamentary caucus have been recurring since its electoral defeat in 2016. Some fear that the chairman’s initiative could deepen factional cracks and distract from the party’s efforts to project a united front against the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Historically, “thank-you tours” in Ghanaian politics have carried heavy symbolic weight. Former President John Dramani Mahama undertook one after his 2012 electoral victory, while even in defeat, he traveled across the country after the 2020 elections to engage supporters and reaffirm commitment to the party’s base. By contrast, party chairmen have rarely, if ever, assumed this role.
With the Eastern Region scheduled as the launch point for Mr. Nketia’s tour, party stakeholders and grassroots members now wait to see whether the leadership dispute will be resolved quietly—or erupt into another round of open confrontation in the NDC’s already turbulent internal politics.
