The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has reversed its earlier directive barring suspended Obuasi Senior High Technical School headmaster Zakaria Abdulai from contesting the party’s constituency chairmanship election.

Deputy General Secretary Mustapha Gbande said the party has now permitted Abdulai to file his nomination after meeting with the Functional Executive Committee.

Speaking on Joy News on October 19, 2026, Gbande described the earlier directive as preliminary.

“Indeed, it is true. Those were preliminary directives that were taken,” he said. “He can now file and proceed.”

Gbande explained that the committee considered several ongoing processes, including Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu’s referral of the sexual abuse allegations against Abdulai to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and an investigation by the Ghana Education Service (GES).

He said the party also considered explanations Abdulai provided during his meeting with its leadership, as well as information that the headmaster had taken legal action over alleged defamation linked to a documentary about the case.

According to Gbande, the NDC wants the various processes to run their course without prejudging the allegations or undermining Abdulai’s rights.

“As much as we’re dealing with the public interest in this issue, we don’t also jeopardize the rights of the person who is involved; we want to make sure that processes are run properly,” he said.

He added that the party would monitor the investigations and could summon Abdulai again if substantial evidence emerged linking him to the allegations.

“The National Executive Committee informed him that we will be monitoring the process, and that any time anything points to quite substantial evidence of his involvement in this, given the nature of the investigations that are going to be carried out, the party will call him back,” Gbande said.

He also confirmed that Abdulai had denied involvement in the alleged misconduct, adding that the headmaster would have the opportunity to present his case to the relevant investigative bodies.

The decision reverses the party’s earlier position, after its Deputy Communications Director reportedly shared that Abdulai would be disqualified if he pursued his political ambition.

Abdulai can now contest the constituency chairmanship while the investigations into the allegations continue.