Asiedu Nketia Urges NDC Members With Presidential Ambitions to Focus on Government's Success
- NDC Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia has urged presidential hopefuls in the party to focus on supporting the Mahama administration
- He warned that early campaigning and disunity could disrupt government activities and weaken the party's future chances at the polls
- Nketia questioned the rush to replace John Mahama, saying party members in key roles should remain committed to delivering results
Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the Chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), has cautioned party members and appointees with presidential ambitions to prioritise making the current government more successful.
The NDC Chairman stated that the party had been in office for only eight months and that the focus ought to be on contributing to the success of the John Dramani Mahama administration instead of jostling to succeed the President.
Source: UGC
Speaking to Channel On TV on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, Asiedu Nketia cautioned that if potential successors to President Mahama conducted themselves in ways that disrupted government activities, it would hinder their success - even if they became the flagbearer.
He said whoever replaced President Mahama would have to ride on his achievements to convince the electorate to vote for them, and therefore, there was a need for all party members to focus on helping the government achieve its promises to the Ghanaian people.
"In your effort to succeed President Mahama, if you conduct yourself in ways that disrupt the activities of the government, that make you less successful, then you have a bigger problem, even when you become the flagbearer," he said.
The video of Asiedu Nketia's remarks is below:
Asiedu Nketia further questioned the wisdom of beginning to campaign for the presidency so early, especially given the sensitive positions occupied by some of the names being mentioned as potential replacements for President Mahama, warning that such actions could have negative consequences.
"So, that is why I have been cautioning that we should wait until the right time. President Mahama has only been in office for about eight months. So, if you are struggling to decide who will replace him, do you know what that could cause? All the names we are hearing hold very sensitive positions in the party and government. If all of us decide today that, well, people say I can be president, so let me start organising... How do you think that will end?"
Source: Facebook
Mahama's potential successors emerge ahead of 2028
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana limits the presidential term of office to eight years, divided into two terms of four years each.
Having already served his first four years as head of state, between 2013 and 2017, President Mahama will not be on the ballot for the NDC in 2028 after securing his second term in the 2024 elections.
This means that the ruling NDC will have to go to the polls in 2027 to elect a new presidential candidate ahead of the general elections on December 7, 2028.
So far, some of the names being bandied around on social media as possible replacements for President Mahama include Asiedu Nketia, Vice-President Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, and Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu.
Other names being mentioned include the Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, Board Chairman of GCB Bank, Prof Joshua Alabi, the former MD of the Tema Oil Refinery, Kwame Awuah-Darko, and Dr Zanetor Agyemang Rawlings, daughter of Ghana's late former president, Jerry John Rawlings.
Source: Facebook
Eric Opoku speaks on NDC flagbearership ambitions
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported earlier that the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, left the door open on his ambitions to succeed President John Mahama as the NDC presidential flagbearer.
He stated that he remained focused on his mandate as the Minister for Food and Agriculture. Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu is said to be leading a field of potential names to govern Ghana in future.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
