Bagbin mocks NDC Unity Walk: “I don’t know how walking together can unite”

National Democratic Congress (NDC) aspiring flagbearer, Alban Bagbin, says he would rather want the party to engage in what he termed ‘Unity Talks’ than its supposed ‘Unity Walk’, which he argued, is a mere strategy by John Mahama to test the waters. The party has since losing the 2016 general elections, embarked on a series of Unity Walks across the country part of its reorganization drive to among other things, unite the rank and file of the party to win the next elections in 2020. Some leading members of the party and analysts have criticized the way the walks have been organised on the basis that its objective has not been achieved over the period as it has failed to bring all the key actors in the party together on a common platform. READ: Kofi Adams hits back at Spio-Garbrah: ‘Unity Walk is unifying NDC’ Some have argued the walks, which have mostly been addressed by former president John Mahama, was only to market him as the preferred candidate for the party’s ticket for the next elections. In an exclusive interview with Media General’s Kwakye Afreh-Nuamah to be aired on Tuesday May 29, on TV3 and 3FM 92.7, Mr. Bagbin expressed little faith in the Unity Walks. “I don’t know how walking together can unite”, he stated, adding “I have not participated in any of the suppose unity walks because I don’t believe in that”. [caption id="attachment_66473" align="aligncenter" width="566"] Mahama at one of the Unity Walk events[/caption] Mr. Bagbin who is the MP for Nadowli Kaleo and the second deputy Speaker of Parliament indicated he does not “see how people will be walking together on the street and that will lead to unity”   he added. He believes the way forward should have been “unity talks where you sit down to listen to each other and try to agree to disagree, raise some compromises, give and take and then you try to unite”. From his perspective, the “Unity Walk” has inured largely to the benefit of the party by way of publicity but its branding is the problem. “Not fruitless, it did help animate the ground; it did help give an indication to our supporters that well, the party is still alive and kicking. But it is the branding that they got wrong and their posture and attitude that was also wrong”, he observed. Unity Walk was for Mahama Explaining how the branding was a problem, Mr. Bagbin claimed his colleague aspirants attended one of the unity walks in Cape Coast and were hooted at by supporters of John Mahama. He said the unity walk is built around John Mahama and “it’s part of his strategy to test the grounds”. He rejected claims by some party executives including the National organizer of the party, Kofi Adams, that the Unity walk is sponsored by the party at regional levels. No unity contributed to our loss Mr.Bagbin reiterated one of the reasons the party lost power in 2016 was because there was no unity in the party. “One of the reasons why we lost [the 2016 general elections] is that some of our own supporters turned against us, there was the marginalization of party and party structures”. He also claimed the inexperience of Stan Dogbe, a presidential staffer, to manage John Mahama properly also contributed greatly to the defeat of the party. Read:Stan Dogbe was inexperienced in managing Mahama – Alban Bagbin Alban Bagbin commended the rank and file of the party, especially the grassroots for their commitment to the cause of the party describing them as “being enthusiastic and ready and willing to take up the fight to the NPP” He also expressed his readiness to support whoever is elected the flagbearer of the party in the upcoming national delegates’ congress. By P.D Wedam|3news.com|Ghana]]>