{"id":338571,"date":"2017-07-22T18:07:57","date_gmt":"2017-07-22T18:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=338571"},"modified":"2017-07-22T18:07:57","modified_gmt":"2017-07-22T18:07:57","slug":"pnc-suspends-general-secretary-atik-mohammed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/07\/pnc-suspends-general-secretary-atik-mohammed\/","title":{"rendered":"PNC suspends General Secretary Atik Mohammed"},"content":{"rendered":"
The People’s National Congress (PNC) has suspended its General Secretary, Atik Mohammed for derogatory comments made about the party’s flagbearer in the 2016 elections, Dr. Edward Mahama.<\/p>\n
Senior members of the PNC had expressed their opposition to the acceptance of the position of Ambassador-at-Large in the NPP government, by Dr. Mahama without consulting the party.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”yazbqYkgPUhCGBIzjMAaIiquT6HFsyKQ”]Atik Mohammed had called for the resignation of Dr Mahama from the party as he had shown ‘bad judgement’ in accepting the position.<\/p>\n
He is quoted as having said that the party could “not even be sure where [Dr Mahama’s] loyalty is anymore . . . he cannot continue, in my opinion, to be the leader of the party.\u201d<\/p>\n
The National Executive Committee of the party took the decision to suspend Atik after a meeting on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Dr. Edward Mahama, who has been flagbearer of the PNC five times, was named\u00a0Ambassador-at-Large<\/a><\/span><\/strong> by President Akufo-Addo last week.<\/p>\n However, some officials of the party, including\u00a0National Chairman, Bernard Mornah expressed their\u00a0reservations about the appointment suggesting that it would limit his objectivity on national issues.<\/p>\n Bernard Mornah also stated that Dr Mahama had violated his own principles,\u00a0having reportedly opposed the appointments of other party members by previous\u00a0governments, a claim the former flagbearer has categorically denied<\/span><\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n “Edward Mahama had refused to become vice president of Ghana; he also refused a health Minister position before. He had led and supervised the suspension of party members who did not allow their appointment to come to the party before they were appointed into other positions like Mallam Issah,” he told Citi News.<\/strong><\/p>\n “Even Thomas Atiga, the Ashanti Regional Secretary then who went to support Patricia Agyei\u2019s candidature in the Asawase\u00a0by-election were all dismissed because Dr. Mahama won\u2019t countenance it. And those other individuals who went their way, he considered that as poaching of our members. And we have been lampooned together including Ambrose Dery among others.\u201d<\/p>\n