Information The Catalyst is picking from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is that the failure of ex-President Kufuor to win the prestigious Mo Ibrahim Award for this year has brought joy to the Akufo-Addo faction in the party.
Much as the award would have brought a considerable amount of benefits to the party, some members of the Akufo-Addo faction see it as a personal award for Mr. Kufuor and his faction and a good resource to try to exert his fading influence on the party.
The Catalyst has gathered that the camp of Nana Akufo Addo was praying hard against Kufuor winning the award. So, when it was announced that no winner could be found this year, they (Nana Addo’s camp) broke into silent jubilation. One of them who spoke on condition of anonymity to this paper, said much as the award would have brought a campaign advantage to the party in the 2012 elections, the Akufo-Addo faction is overjoyed over his failure to grab the money because that would have spelt the doom of Nana Akufo-Addo in his bid to become President.
According to him, former President Kufuor would have used the money to promote his protégé, Mr Alan Kyeremanten’s presidential bid in order to move forward his agenda of getting a strangle hold on the party. “He would have financed the campaign of his main man, Alan Kyeremanten and Nana would have been finished. That is why we are happy he missed out,” he said.
From all indications, the Akufo-Addo camp perceives that Alan Kyeremanten’s intention of leading the NPP to election 2012 is still intact and that poses a threat to Nana and such a huge amount of money coming through to the former President would have added some more impetus to the Kufuor agenda.
They also believe that it would have been a good excuse for Mr. Kufuor to spend more on the campaign, since it would serve as a justification for any excessive spending at a time the party is in opposition.
Though Nana Addo was not around, reports have it that he only shed some crocodile tears for his ‘rival.’ Nana Addo is feverishly working on his “last chance” in 2012, after which he would be ‘too old’ to contest the presidential election in 2016 or beyond. By 2012, he would be close to 70 years, when his strength and mental capability would have diminished significantly.
Winners of the three-year old award receive $5-million over 10 years and $200,000 annually for the rest of their lives. The two past winners of Mo Ibrahim Prize are former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano and Botswana's ex-president Festus Gontebanye Mogae.
Former President Kufuor was reported to be leading on the list of possible winners this year; however, he had the shock of his life when the award committee announced that none of the ex-Presidents nominated for this year’s awards met the criteria.
Mr. Kufuor himself was angry with Mo Ibrahim, to whom he sold Westel at a give-away price. He was expecting the award as a reciprocal gesture from the man he saw as a friend. He was so sure of winning the award that he planned a press conference to accept the award, to be immediately followed with a night-long party, which did not materialise.