The outcome of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s super delegates conference may be the beginning of the NPP’s backtrack out of power and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s return to power.
This is according to Mr. Stephen Ashitey Adjei, alias Moshake, a former executive of the Tema East Constituency branch of the NDC.
“Just like happened in 2008 after the Kufuor faction, represented by Alan Kyerematen, had been rejected, this outcome is the stuff of a coming implosion,” Moshake wrote in a statement posted on social media on Monday.
According to him, “by this, the NPP has slapped Kufuor in the face again and Kufuor, who is a master tactician will not take it sitting down. The Kufuor faction may just help Mahama and the NDC to win the 2024 election out of spite for Bawumia, Akufo-Addo and the Akyem faction.”
On Saturday, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia clinched a landslide victory in the NPP’s super delegates conference that was held to winnow down the long list of ten flagbearer aspirants to two.
Sweeping 629 votes, Bawumia licked 68.15% of the votes nicking Assin central MP, Ken Agyapong, who got 132 votes, (14.30%) and former Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen who managed 95 votes, or 10.29%.
The results means that Alan Kyerematen, who has been Kufuor’s anointed heir for the leadership of the NPP has been kicked out and this time, the rejection implies an ending to Alan’s presidential ambition.
“Kufuor will not allow this defeat to Alan go without a fight because it insults his reputation as the highest elder in the NPP,” Moshake wrote.
According to him, another motivating factor for a Kufuor plot is that, former President John Mahama, who is the NDC’s flagbearer, is connected to Kufuor through Mahama’s stepmother.
“Only the uninitiated in politics do not know that Mahama leading the NDC is partly the doing of Kufuor who advised him not to quit when Mahama first quit after the 2016 election. If Alan had won, Kufuor would have had two political godchildren leading the two main parties in the race, but now that Alan has lost, it means he has only one godson left in the race. All energy and resources will go into Mahama’s campaign.”
Apart from the foregoing, Moshake also pointed out that the results denies the Ashanti bloc in the NPP, their turn at leadership in the NPP’s unwritten rotation of leadership baton between the Ashantis and Akyems.
“Even though Bawumia is a Manprusi, everybody knows he is Akufo-Addo’s anointed and will be under the country of the Akyem faction if he becomes president and so this will be seen as yet another victory for the Akyem faction. This will only make Kufuor instigate the Ashanti faction against Bawumia’s campaign and in so doing, create way for the NDC to win the 2024 election,” Moshake wrote, adding, “It is 2008 on repeat all over again.”
Meanwhile, Moshake sympathised with Alan Kyeremanten, pointing out that the way his presidential ambition has ended is not fair to the man who has exercised patience for his turn since 2007.
“But Alan’s predicament should be a lesson to all politicians, who choose to listen to people like Kufuor; if after it had become obvious that Bawumia was favourite to win, he had weighed his chances and accepted the proposition to become Bawumia’s running mate, it would have been the smarter move,” Moshake analysed.
This he said is because, “if Bawumia wins and becomes president, Alan would be Vice President and be very close to his dream of becoming president and if he does not win the presidential election, Alan would then be in better position to lead the NPP as flagbearer.
However, he did not take the deal because he listened to Kufuor who told him to reject the running mate role because it is second fiddle.”