Addressing delegates at Rhinos Hotel within Ashaiman Constituency, the Ghanaian Diplomat said the party will benefit from his forty-year experience if voted to lead the party. Spio-Garbrah served and held many positions at senior levels at African Development Bank, Commonwealth Telecom Organization, UNESCO, OPEC among others. He has been assuring delegates that the unblemished track record puts him in good standing to occupy the seat of government as president.
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Spio Garbrah urges NDC delegates to elect flagbearer on merit and competence
National Democratic Congress flagbearer aspirant, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah has charged delegates to elect 2020 presidential candidate on merit and competence.
Spio Garbrah
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Recounting his contributions to the party, he re-echoed that former President J.J Rawlings nominated him in 1993 as Minister of Information and in spite of the fact that he was disqualified from becoming a Minister of State because of a suspended parliamentary vetting due to his voter registration status, he stayed committed and true to the NDC.
"Some of you say that you have suffered in the NDC, l have also really suffered even more than you. In 1993, Rawlings said l want Spio-Garbrah to be Minister of information...they said l didn't have Voter ID card. I am the only person in Ghana's history who has been disqualified from becoming a Minister of State because of Voter ID card in an NDC only Parliament" he recounted.
Soon after that experience, he continued, in 1994 when he was only 40 years old, Ex President Rawlings appointed him ambassador to the United Sates, "the world's largest power on earth" and he helped to expand the NDC branches across the USA; Today, it cannot be doubted that most of these NDC USA branches grace his foundational guidance and involvement.
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In keeping with his report, Dr. Spio-Garbrah added that his expertise was tapped to convince Ghanaians to elect J.J Rawlings again in 1996 when he chaired the Publicity Committee of the party. He used the same skill set to convince Ghanaians to accept VAT when it was originally banned after series of fatal demonstrations (Kumi preko-Accra; Wie me preko- Takoradi and Sie me preko- Kumasi) championed by Nana Akufo-Addo, sitting president of Ghana. As the names of the demonstrations suggest, four lives were claimed.
Between 1998 and 2001 when he was Minister of Education, he created the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) which has since funded thousands of school and college infrastructural projects, vehicles and scholarships.
Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah assured the delegates that he could persuade Ghanaians to change their minds and vote the NDC back into power like he did previously, if he is elected flagbearer because he still has the same methods that he used in the past to convince Ghanaians to accept VAT, GETFund etc.
He said "I have the same skill-set that Rawlings asked me to use to change the minds of Ghanaians...if l am made the flagbearer, l would change the minds of Ghanaians so that the NDC would be voted back into power. I have done it before. I can change the minds of the whole people of Ghana."
Alfred Agbesi, former Ashaiman Member of Parliament (M.P) and Deputy Majority Leader in the one-time Mahama government, who was also at the function lamented about the utter disregard for he and his former boss, Alban Bagbin, former Majority Leader of Parliament, when they called on the President at the then Flagstaff House, now Jubilee House.
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According to him, he was made to go through bureaucratic procedures and had to wait from 8.30am to 3.30pm without seeing the president.
He said "there were tin gods in the flagstaff house. When Bagbin was out of town l went to the flagstaff house as Deputy Majority Leader to see former president Mahama and l was delayed from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm."
The former MP, consoled by the assurance of Dr. Spio-Garbrah that, the bureaucratic procedures would seize when he is given the nod and subsequently becomes president, pledged his full support for him on his laudable promise for the presidency!
Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah reiterated that, in his 7-Point Agenda, he stated; "As President, spend one afternoon a week at Party's Headquarters to meet party members and address their problems" explaining that he would always be in touch with the grassroot just like Dr. Nkrumah, Ghana's first president, when he set aside a day to meet, listen to and address the problems of the citizens.
Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah is contesting John Mahama, Joshua Alabi, Sylvester Mensah, Goosie Tanoh, Alban Bagbin, in the NDC flagbearership race scheduled for early 2019.
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Dr. Spio Garbrah has been selling his 7-Point Agenda to party delegates across the country assuring them that he would assist the youth with education, skills training, scholarships and jobs; build offices for all constituencies and ensure logistics are properly shared; Strengthen women's wing to include income generating activities; Create Welfare Committees at National, Regional, and Constituency Level; As President, spend one afternoon each week at Party Headquarters to meet party members; Create an NDC Credit Union to enable members gain access to funds; and create National and Regional Business Development Committees.
Credit: SPIO2020 Campaign Team
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