The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has disclosed that the appointment of Haruna Iddrisu and Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak as Ministers was influenced by internal party advice he personally gave to President John Dramani Mahama.
According to him, he urged the President after the 2024 elections to ensure that key party figures, including Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka Mubarak, were assigned significant roles in government as part of efforts to maintain unity and reward experience within the party.
Speaking in Tamale in a video sighted on Friday, May 22, Asiedu Nketiah explained that the decision was not accidental but part of a deliberate decision following its electoral victory.
He stressed that he advised the President not to sideline influential figures within the party, arguing that their inclusion in government was necessary for cohesion and effective governance.
The NDC Chairman maintained that President Mahama accepted the recommendation, leading to the appointment of Haruna Iddrisu as Minister of Education and Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak as Minister for the Interior.
“After we won the election, I told President Mahama that we cannot ignore Muntaka and Haruna in setting up our government, so they needed to be given big positions. President Mahama agreed and gave them the positions, and we are working together and enjoying ourselves. So if you are in Tamale, and you are forming groups for Muntaka and Haruna, it is not our case but your case.”
Meanwhile, Asiedu Nketiah also reflected on the party’s 2024 electoral victory, describing it as the result of strategic but difficult internal restructuring aimed at strengthening its parliamentary leadership.
The NDC in 2023 undertook a major reshuffle of its parliamentary leadership, which saw the removal of the then Minority leadership team led by Haruna Iddrisu, a move the party described as part of broader organisational reforms stretching from the grassroots to the national level.
