The National Democratic Congress (NDC) victory lap has taken a theatrical turn, as Minister for Education Haruna Iddrisu used a public platform to throw subtle shade at a rival appreciation tour being conducted by the party’s National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia.

Speaking on Friday, May 22, 2026, in the Savannah Region, Mr Iddrisu took the stage with President John Dramani Mahama in attendance to clarify exactly whose gratitude matters most to the rank and file.

"I recall when the president came for his thank-you tour — not the other thank-you tour," Mr Iddrisu told the gathered supporters. "A proper thank-you tour of President Mahama, not the curtain-raiser one."

The Battle of the Thank-You Tours

The jab highlights a fascinating dual-track victory lap currently unfolding within the governing party.

While President Mahama is out engaging voters, Chairman Asiedu Nketia has been steering his own parallel, nationwide Thank You Tour to express gratitude to the electorate for returning the NDC to power in the 2024 elections.

However, the subtext of this tour scheduling conflict runs much deeper than mere calendar clashes.

Mr Iddrisu’s remarks are widely viewed as a direct counter-punch to statements made by the National Chairman just days earlier during a tour stop in Tamale.

Residual Heat from the 2023 Benchings

In Tamale, Mr Asiedu Nketia went on the offensive to defend the party’s highly controversial January 2023 parliamentary reshuffle, which famously stripped Mr Iddrisu of his powerful role as Minority Leader.

The Chairman likened himself to a football coach who had to change his "forward line" to win the tournament, acknowledging that the move caused "hell" and strained 20-year friendships, but insisting it was strictly business.

To smooth things over, the chairman also publicly claimed that he personally lobbied President Mahama to ensure both Mr Iddrisu and Muntaka Muhammed were taken care of with high-profile ministerial appointments in the new administration.

Clearly, the "coach's" explanation did not sit entirely well with his former star player.

By framing the chairman's nationwide tour as a mere opening act for the president's "proper" tour, Mr Iddrisu made it clear that while the 2024 election is over, the internal political maneuvering within the NDC is still very much game on.

Both Nketia and Iddrisu have presidential ambitions, it is reported, with election 2028 approaching.