Politics of Thursday, 23 October 2014

Source: Daily Heritage

Don’t blame Alan supporters if NPP loses 2016 polls - Hilda Addo

DESPITE THE symbolic visit and assurances by fierce contender of Nana Akufo-Addo in the just-ended flag-bearer election, Alan Kyeremanten, to rally his weight behind the presidential hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), it has popped up that key stalwarts of the Alan camp are still bitter.

Information gleaned from the Alan quarters suggest that some notable faces that campaigned for the former trade and industry minister in the Kufuor administration in the party’s presidential primary will find it difficult backing the Nana Akufo-Addo 2016 campaign.

Post-polls’ reports monitored by DAILY HERITAGE on the various media platforms after the overwhelming victory of Mr Akufo-Addo, revealed that sympathizers of the two camps who campaigned vigorously for Alan and Addai-Nimoh, are yet to come to terms with the shocking votes garnered by their favourites.

Speaking on Accra-based OKAY FM, spokesperson for Alan Kyeremanten, Nana Ohene Ntow, claimed that it is abnormal for a candidate to win with that vast majority of votes in an election.

Nana Ohene Ntow said the 117,113 votes obtained by the Nana Akufo-Addo representing 94% out of the total of 140,000 was ‘weird’ and has never happened in the history of the party. He is, therefore, calling for diligent and careful overview of the results.

The latest critic from the Alan camp to question the outcome of the NPP flag-bearer election is the former Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso in the Ashanti region, Hilda Addo, who has asserted that the 2016 presidential election with Nana Akufo-Addo as the torchbearer, is going to be tough task to wrestle power from the ruling National Democratic Congress.

The former MP opined that, prior to the polls; they questioned the timeframe for holding the congress making references to the party’s constitution which placed the organization of the event to December.

She said the congress was a predetermining factor for 2016 general election and sounded biblical saying “what will it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul at the end” which she translated to mean that, though Nana Akufo-Addo has won the flag-bearership contest, that victory will not do the party any good if he loses the 2016 election.

The tough-speaking legislator said in politics, majority doesn’t always mean right and cautioned supporters of the party’s flag-bearer to reserve their jubilation for 2016.

Touching on the political future of Alan Kyeremanten, she said the popularity of the former Trade and Industry minister in the Kufuor administration has not waned.

She contended that no party sympathizer should blame supporters of Alan Kyeremanten if Nana Akufo-Addo fails to defeat the ruling NDC.