The Rawlingses Did Not Design NDC�s Insignia � Former Minister

A Public Interest Lawyer and former General Secretary of the Egle Party, which together with other political movements formed an alliance with the NDC, Mr. Sam Pee Yalley, says neither the Former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, nor any other person can solely lay claim to the design of the NDC�s emblem, the umbrella. As the battle for the soul of the NDC deepens ahead of the Congress to decide who leads the party in 2012, there have been attempts by some persons to link the design of the emblem to Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, who is often said to have played a pivotal role in the NDC�s growth. However Mr. Yalley, a former Minister of State in the Rawlings regime, has told Citi News the concept for the emblem was reached by a collective decision. He however noted that the designed concept was put into artistic form by one Ali Yomo. �As far as I am concerned, the NDC insignia is a collective work done by a group of people and I also know that the artist who put the concept together was Ali Yomo. The Regional Minister of Brong Ahafo Mr. Kwadwo Marfo also played a very active role in the designed concept of the Akatamso (The Umbrella). The NDC is a congress that was made up of various political groupings so as a concept, we wanted something that depicted a shade over all these groupings and also a national symbol that gave a semblance of protection for the whole of the people of Ghana. And you will also see that, on top of the umbrella, there is an eagle which was the symbol of the Egle party. There was even a proposal that the Egle party should come under the umbrella, but we argued that it was not possible for an eagle to be under an umbrella.� �The Umbrella came after the amalgamation of all the political movements that came out with the NDC. A lot of the groups were galvanizing themselves around the probity and accountability principle and therefore when we decided to form a political party, we wanted a symbol that puts all of us together. And we thought that the traditional cultural umbrella symbolizes coverage for all of us. But most importantly, we thought that it had a cultural semblance of protecting the whole of Ghana. The Umbrella was superimposed over the Ghana map� he explained. Asked what role Nana Konadu and one-time NDC Chairman, Dr. Yaw Obed Asamoah may have played in the formation of the NDC, and the introduction of its emblem, Mr. Sam Pee Yalley said � I do not know of the role played by Nana Konadu personally in the formation of the NDC. All I know is that, people like use and others who felt that we believe in the probity and accountability that had been espoused by the AFRC group that transformed into the NDC, started various political movements. And I remember the Egle Party which was called the Egle Club. It was after these movements have formed the NDC, that the 31st December Womens� Movement came out as an NGO and later became a political women�s� wing of the NDC. I think that all this while, Nana Konadu�s role would have been a very good wife supporting an active President� he noted. Mr. Yalley said no individual or group can claim the exclusive rights over the symbol of the NDC, since the party was not registered in the name of any single individual. Mr. Yalley revealed that he will soon be embarking on a research to find out who the original directors of the NDC are at the Registrar Generals Department, since every company by law must have at least two directors.