Bongo Constituency Organizer for NDC Calls on Party’s Top Hierarchy to Mend Cracks Within Party.

The constituency organizer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Bongo Constituency, Hon. Ataba Philimon Atiah, has called on the Member of Parliament, the District Chief Executive, and the leadership board to bring an end to divisions lingering around the party for the sake of development and the party’s progress.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Godfred Awindenaba of xtrememediaonline.com on Wednesday, 16th April, 2025, Hon. Ataba Philimon stated that the cracks within the party are retarding the progress of the party and the development of Bongo as a whole.

“There is so much division in the party; the camps matter is eating deep into the peaceful coexistence of party members and when care is not taken, we may be doomed in the near future.”
His comments came on the back of the failure of the district to elect a presiding member through voting on 15th April, 2025.

Hon. Ataba Philimon was one of two people who contested for the presiding member’s position but was later asked to step down for Hon. Mba Asampana following the failure of either of them to secure the needed two-thirds majority votes.

In responding to questions concerning the issues leading to him stepping down from the presiding member’s position for the fourth time and his plans going forward, Hon. Ataba stated that he was treated unfairly by the party executives.

“I made it clear during my speech that I am not happy with the manner in which the party had treated me; it was unfair. I have been a very active member of the party, and I perform my role as the organizer of the party without looking back. I have sacrificed a lot for the party, and they all know it. I traveled to the Northern region about three times to bring back people who had traveled there for work to come and vote for the party. I did a lot of work for the party within the constituency, and yet the party leaders schemed against me in this manner,” he stated.

“Despite the fact that I am the party’s organizer, I was denied the right of knowing who the appointees were until the time they were sworn into office so that I wouldn’t have the chance to speak with them to vote for me.”

Read also: Bongo District Assembly Elects Hon. Joseph Akasake Abaah as New DCE

He added that the leaders of the party schemed against him based on suspicions that he was not in support of the candidacy of the current Member of Parliament.

“The constitution of the party does not allow the party’s executives to take sides in the party’s internal elections; we are not supposed to publicly support any of the contestants but to remain neutral so that we can work with anybody who emerges as the winner, but for reasons of my relationship with the former Member of Parliament, Hon. Edward Bawa, people believe that he was my favorite, but nobody remembers the things I did for the party during the election even when Hon. Edward Bawa was not in the race,” he added.

In his words, he stepped down in order to allow peace to reign and also to give due respect to the paramount chief and the rest of the people who had called on him to step down for his uncle. He also revealed that he has started taking steps to repair the relationship between him and the elected presiding member, which was affected by the election issues.

“I paid him a visit to congratulate him and make peace with him for the betterment of the party and the district at large. I was also well received, and he promised to make sure we all work together in peace and unity, but the party must work hard to mend the existing cracks and abolish the camps within the party.”

View this post: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BScKwa4dY/

Meanwhile, Hon. Edward Asekere, the constituency communications director of the National Democratic Congress, has applauded Hon. Ataba for accepting to step down for Hon. Mba.

According to him, the party is taking steps to ensure that there is unity among its members.

“Let me first thank Hon. Ataba for what he did and assure you that leadership of the party is going to take the necessary steps in making sure that there is peace and stability within the party. Just yesterday, the DCE called the two of them to accompany him to the palace of the paramount chief, and this is so because he knows that the three of them are supposed to work together for the development of Bongo,” he stated.

He further stated that the leaders will surely sit with Hon. Ataba to hear from him and find a lasting solution to the issue.

“Good leaders listen to everybody, and we heard him during his speech when he stated that he was displeased with certain issues that have taken place, and so we will sit with him to hear his grievances and find a better way of resolving them,” he added.

He also expressed his belief that what happened will not affect the relationship within the party.

“You see, we are political animals; whatever we do is for a reason, and we do not include hatred or labor anger. You may get angry over certain things, but once you are able to speak out your concerns, it ends there, so I believe that Hon. Ataba has spoken and will definitely not labor hatred. We are going to make sure that the needed steps are taken for the betterment of Bongo.

He again expressed excitement in the appointment of Hon. Joseph Akasake Abaah as requested District Chief Executive for Bongo. According to him, Hon. Akasake is a development-oriented person who has so much experience in leadership.

“The appointment of Hon. Akasake means a lot for the people of Bongo. He has so much passion for development and also has a lot of experience: he has been a youth organizer for the party before, he was an assemblyman for 12 good years before becoming the constituency secretary, and he knows Bongo so well and understands the problems that we are confronted with. With Hon. Akasake, Bongo will see significant changes,” he stated.