The simmering tension within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has exploded with supporters of the main actors in the feud trading accusations.

Days after the party's press conference addressed by Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, the party's Presidential candidate in last year's elections, supporters of Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, the closest rival of Nana Addo in the NPP presidential nomination, have taken a swipe at Nana Addo.

Events monitored on the airwaves, last Wednesday offers a clear indication yet that, Alan's supporters believe Nana Addo is subtly using the party's machinery to further his ambition to lead the NPP in the 2012 elections.

A number of Alan supporters who phone in to many morning show programmes, saw Nana Addo;s press conference as one of the many maneuverings by the Nana camp to impose Nana Addo on the NPP.

“Where is Alan Kyerematen that Nana Addo is parading as if he were the presidential candidate of the NPP”, a lady caller on Hot FM questioned, and urged to wake up from the slumber lest Nana Addo picks the NPP plume prize on silver platter.

Nonetheless, she was not the least perturbed by the Nana Addo's overtures because she believes “Nana Addo is not a winner” and therefore warned delegates of the NPP not to make the mistake of entrusting the NPP flag-bearship in Akufo-Addo in 2012.

Other Alan supporters who phone in to similar programmes questioned the basis of Nana Addo's press conference and asked him to stop parading as the leader of the party.

Although Nana Addo supporters see their mentor as the de-facto opposition leader, the party's constitution does not recognize any such position. They therefore saw nothing wrong with the address by Nana Addo.

As the person who came so close in the 2008 elections, Nana's group was of the view that any member of the party's leadership could not carry much weight such as that of Nana's on matters of national concern. They therefore saw nothing wrong with Nana press conference.

desktop2 Some party stalwarts like Dr. Nyaho-Nyaho Tamakloe and Yaw Osafo Maafo had in recent times suggested that based on the performance of Nana Addo in the 2008 presidential election, the party offers Nana Addo another chance to run as the sole candidate of the party in the 2012 elections.

That proposal was however kicked against by especially, the Ashanti Regional branch of the NPP, many of who threatened mayhem if the party circumvents the laid down rules to favour any particular candidate. Most backers of the idea like Dr. Nyaho-Nyaho Tamakloe, Victor Newmann and others were at Nana Addo's press conference.

Yet Nana's critics see the subtle by Akufo-Addo and his group, as attempt to breach the party's constitution and although they reckoned the locus standing of Nana Addo in the NPP, they still believed any such address should have been done by the party chairman, who by the NPP constitution is the leader of the NPP.

“It confirms the long standing suspicion that some party stakeholders are struggling hard to impose Nana Addo on the NPP in the 2012 election”, a staunch Alan Kyerematen supporter noted. He swore that if that is the plan of the Akufo-Addo, then “they are in for a serous wreck”.

According to the NPP constitution, the party's presidential candidate assumes the mantle of leadership in an election year. However the leadership reverts back to the party chairman after the election, more especially when the party fails to win the election.

With the power play that evolved after the election of then candidate Kufuor as President, some party chiefs advocated that in a situation where the party is able to produce a president, then the elected president should assume the de-facto leadership of the party. That proposal is however subject to consideration by an extra-ordinary congress that the party will be convening in the coming months.