General News of Friday, 24 August 2007

Source: Chronicle

Kyeremanteng's boys attack Veep

ALIU IS WEAK
Don`t vote him for NDC to smother

THE Youth Campaign wing of Mr. Alan Kyeremanteng, one of the aspiring candidates of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has warned and reminded potential delegates who will be voting to elect a flagbearer for the Party not to vote for the Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama as the flagbearer of the Party.

This, he said, is simply because the Vice President is a weak and malleable candidate who would easily not only be ridden over by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) but would also not debate and win elections with Professor Mills.

The wing has further reminded and warned delegates of the NPP to be wary of the likely political tactics and fake endorsement of candidates by stalwarts of the opposition National Democratic Congress which would eventually see the Party elect a ‘weak’ flagbearer to contest their candidate, Prof. John Atta Mills.

Mr. Prince Armah, Western Regional Coordinator of Mr. Alan Kyeremanten’s Campaign team who spoke to this Paper in an exclusive interview, was reacting to The Chronicle on Saturday in which an NDC Member of Parliament for Manya Krobo, Mr. Michael Teye Nyawunu had asked delegates of the NPP to maintain the Vice President as the Party’s flagbearer. The MP also subsequently lashed out at the candidature of Alan Kyeremanten for failing the PSI and subsequently dodging the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade and Industry for questioning.

Continuing, Mr. Armah cautioned the delegates to firmly close their ears and turn down the phony endorsement of aspiring candidates by NDC stalwarts because their endorsement of candidates were loaded with mischief.

“We should not listen to the NDC endorsement of candidates because we are in competition for the grand electoral prize next year”.

To him, that is the tactic the leadership of the NDC is adopting and is praying that the NPP present a weak candidate to match their candidate for easy electoral victory in the next election.

He intimated that the endorsement of the Vice President by the said NDC MP and his subsequent lashing of Mr. Alan Kyeremanten meant invariably that Alan was a tough candidate which the NDC would find difficult to match.

He asked delegates to assess Alan and compare him to the Vice President and draw their own conclusion taking into account what the two were worth.

“Alan can speak our local Akan dialect which is an integral part of our community as compared to others”.

His achievements were enormous even before he headed the Ministry of Trade and Industry which saw him introduce the non-traditional export and the introduction of AGOA. He has also brought investors into the country. As a result, according to Mr. Prince Armah, the country needs a President who has both professional and business credentials to continue from where the sitting President would leave off and the candidate is no other person than Alan.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ken Anku who is the media consultant of Alan Kyeremanten’s campaign team has challenged spin doctors who continue to sing their usual song that the President is supporting the candidature of Alan to produce evidence to that effect, something that Kufuor is remembered to have asked for.

To him, since the Presidency which is respected has come out openly to rebuff the allegation, it is incumbent on spin doctors of other aspiring candidates to remain silent.

“There is no truth in the allegation that the President is supporting Alan as the media is suggesting”.

He therefore urged the media to shape the opinion of the listening and the reading public.