ONE OF the presidential aspirants of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector and President's Special Initiatives (PSI), Mr. Alan Kyeremanten, has urged constituency executives, who would be congregating at the party's national delegates congress next year to elect the successor to the incumbent president, to give him the mandate to lead the party in the 2008 general elections.

The aspirant, who interacted with polling station chairmen in the Volta region over the weekend, told the delegates that because he hails from both the Central Region and the Ashanti regions he stood the chance of attracting more votes from the two regions.

The political desk of this paper has gathered that the Minister, who is known as the 'Darling boy' of Mr. J. A. Kufuor, was accompanied by Mr. Johnson Avulete, the suspended Volta regional organizer of the NPP, Madam Afi Adzagbo, former Hohoe South constituency women's organizer among others.

He told the party's executives at both Keta and Akatsi on Saturday, before he moved to Northern part of the region that, considering the number of presidential aspirants within main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who hail from the Central region, there was every indication that the NDC wanted to turn the Central Region into its stronghold.

The Minister, who arrived late to the meeting at the Akatsi District Assembly because he was returning from Anloga and Keta constituencies, addressed the party members after an opening prayer by Mr. Jerry Xebidzi, a polling station chairman.

Recounting his days in the NPP coupled with successes that he had chalked as a Minister, Mr. Kyeremanten contended that because the votes of people in Central Region were not constant to the NPP, the delegates should make no mistake to choose another candidate for the party.

"As you are all aware, I am the only person who comes from both Ashanti and Central Regions. I am the best and obvious candidate for the party and I entreat all of you to vote for me," the minister reportedly said, according to a party source at the meeting.

The party members according to our political sources welcomed him and pledged that they would do their best for him.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, who would be contesting against leading candidates like Foreign Minister, Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo, Mr. Yaw Osaafo Maafo, former Finance Minister, Dan Kweku Botwe, former Minister of Information, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, the vice president, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, MP for Offinso-North, Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor, Minister of Defence, Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing and a host of others, was last week rated as the leading contender according a Daily Dispatch survey.