The Minority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, is predicting a highly “acrimonious” internal battle within the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as the party prepares to find a successor to President John Mahama.
Addressing the media in Parliament on Monday, January 26, 2026, Afenyo-Markin suggested that the race to lead the NDC is far from settled despite the party not having officially opened the process.
He claimed that intelligence gathered from both the Jubilee House and within the NDC suggests a party deeply divided by competing ambitions.
The Minority Leader warned that the intense internal manoeuvring could undermine the current administration.
“The NDC race will be more acrimonious than that of the NPP,” Afenyo-Markin stated.
“If care is not taken, President Mahama will by mid-this year become a ‘lame duck’ President because everyone is fighting for power.”
Under the 1992 Constitution, President Mahama is barred from seeking re-election; a vacuum that Afenyo-Markin believes is creating a chaotic scramble for the top ticket.
Afenyo-Markin named specific individuals and alleged “tickets” already forming within the opposition party:
He claimed that Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang is actively preparing a bid and has already selected Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu as her preferred running mate while the NDC Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia is currently on a “thank you tour,” which Afenyo-Markin interpreted as a campaign in disguise.
He further alleged that Chief of Staff Julius Debrah is on his “own mission” for the presidency, reportedly eyeing Fiifi Kwetey as his running mate.
The Minority Leader also cited Finance Minister Ato Forson, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga, and MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa as figures currently engaged in their own political “permutations.”
Afenyo-Markin, further described as ‘laughable’, the presidential aspirations of the Agriculture Minister—who he claimed is currently struggling to secure funding for his own ministry.
The Minority Leader therefore advised the NDC to look inward and focus on resolving their “internal frictions” rather than focusing on the affairs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), whose own internal processes are set to conclude on January 31, 2026.
Source: Ghana | Starrfm.com.gh | Kwaku Nti
