Photo: Nana Rawlings Website

Former President Jerry John Rawlings and wife Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings.

Kumasi — THE STAGE appears to be almost set for a smooth marriage between the break-away National Democratic Party (NDP) and the former First lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, as reports indicate that the latter has begun intense underground lobbying for the new party.

The Chronicle is reliably informed that the former First Lady, who is highly favoured to lead the new party, was in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi, to meet with some strong political figures, as part of ongoing consultations towards the strengthening of the support base of the party.

Leadership of the NDP, the paper gathered, held a close-door meeting at the New Orleans Hotel at Danyame, a base which used to host renegades of the National Democratic Congress during the party's flagbearership contest.

Outsmarting the security apparatus in the region, the leadership of the NDP chose the late hours of Sunday to organize the meeting.

Nana Konadu's name has been brandished in the media for some time now, as the likely flagbearer for the NDP, which broke away from the ruling NDC, with leading members of the party such as Dr. Josiah Aryeh and Dr. Mamboa Rockson, emphatically stating the association of the former first lady and her husband to the NDP.

According to reports, Nana Konadu was billed to hold close-door meeting with the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei II at the Manhyia Palace on Monday, but information indicates that the schedule coincided with the formal opening of the Asanteman Council, another important programme.