According to him, the said leaders are on a wild goose chase. "They have purchased the power of the party into their pockets even though they know that their aim is not 2020," Mr Rawlings told cadres in Kumasi on Saturday.

"Their main target is 2024 when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) would have been weak by then," he said.

The said this at the National Cadres conference for the middle belt which was under the theme: "Effective mobilisation and organisation" for victory 2020: The role of cadres”.

More than 200 Cadres from the Ashanti and Bono regions gathered to strategize for the party ahead of the 2020 elections.

It was a follow up to the Koforidua edition held recently.

Using a lot of analogies and without mentioning names, the former President of Ghana said many people have been rejected by voters in time past even after they had been advised that the grounds were not favourable.

Unfortunately, he said the same mistakes were being pursued, even though key actors were fully aware they were not favoured.

Mr Rawlings expressed regrets at the sidelining of the Cadres by the party's own Constitution but urged them to hold on to the vision and tenets of the revolution for a better Ghana.

"Some of these leaders are wicked, I tell you, he said.

Touching on a number of issues mainly narrations of things that happened while he was in power, Mr Rawlings bemoaned the monetization of Ghana's electoral process which he said did not help safeguard a just and accountable society.

He lamented the perpetuation of an imbalance society by successive governments and failing to prosecute wrongdoers.

Mr Rawlings said from the days of John Agyekum Kufuor through to the era of John Dramani Mahama, they have all shielded miscreants because they themselves take refuge in it, so they could not be prosecuted by successive governments.

"The domineering class should not be allowed to live above the law," he said.

Antwi-Boasiako

The former Eastern regional minister under Rawlings, Mr Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere, said the NDC was gradually losing its social democratic status and it was one of the main factors that led to the party's defeat in 2016.

Contrary to views expressed by Mr Rawlings, Mr Sekyere said cadres have a crucial role to play in ensuring victory in the 2020 elections.

He called for "collective energies and expertise to help the party win the next elections.

"It is time to rescue the nation from the super incompetent NPP government and build a brighter future for the youth," he said.

He called for a serious grassroots participation including house to house campaigning to rescue power.

The former Eastern regional minister urged the Cadres to back John Dramani Mahama to win the next elections.

Alabi

One of the candidates for the recently held NDC presidential race, Prof. Joshua Alabi, called for a united front as the sure way to win the next elections.

He said infighting and rancour were not healthy for they only lead to destruction