Samuel Koku Anyidoho is a former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress

A former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Koku Anyidoho, has praised the party over the decision to name its headquarters after the late former President Jerry John Rawlings.

According to Koku Anyidoho, a former aide and spokesperson for the late President Atta Mills, “the decision is a very excellent one and adds more vindication to my long-held unwavering position that we must honour 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 headquarters after the founder of the party, the late President Jerry John Rawlings, was announced by the Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, at the 46th gathering to commemorate the June 4, 1979 Uprising.

According to Anyidoho, “the move is a very healthy one and now that we are doing the right things by honouring our past Leaders, in due season, it will not be difficult to honour the current leader and future leaders appropriately.

“My issues have been with what seemed like a nonchalant attitude towards honouring 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 founder for making him running mate in 1996 – leading to he becoming vice president and eventually becoming president in 2009. Indeed, given the opportunity, President Mills himself would have not 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 Jerry John Rawlings as the party’s Founder.

BAI/AE