The breakaway of Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should not be allowed to fruition, Asante Akyem North Member of Parliament, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, has cautioned.
He wants elders of the NPP, especially the former President, John Agyekum Kufuor, to intervene in convincing the party’s founding member back in order not to thwart the fortunes of the NPP in the 2024 general elections.
The MP has indicated that, it would be an indictment on the elders to sit aloof to let power slip their hands due to the actions of the man who contested to be flag bearer of the NPP.
Alan Kyerematen, a founding member of the NPP and former minister of Trade and Industry, resigned from the party after accusing leadership of scheming the presidential primary in favour of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
This was occasioned at the super delegates’ conference that was held in August 26 to prune the 10 aspirants to 5. After coming third in the poll, Mr. Kyerematen pulled out of the November 4 final contest and subsequently resigned from the party to form the Movement for Change to contest the 2024 elections as an independent candidate.
The decision led to four stalwarts of the party forfeiting their membership for publicly declaring their support for Mr. Kyerematen as opposed to the party’s constitution.
The leadership, in a statement signed by General Secretary Justin Koduah Frimpong, announced that the four members: Yaw Buaben Asamoa, a former MP and Director of Communications; Boniface Abubakar Saddique, also a former MP; Nana Ohene Ntow, a former General Secretary and Hopeson Yaovi Adorye, a former member of the communications team, were no longer part of the party.
The decision, is what many has described as unnecessary since it has the potential of drifting their support base to lose people who could have voted for the NPP’s parliamentary candidates even if not for the flag bearer.
On TV3’s the KeyPoints Saturday, November 25, 2023, the lawmaker asserted that the NPP needs Mr. Kyerematen and must be brought back for the party’s own good.
“If our kin is gravitating outside the family, all we need to do is to bring him back into the fold. And this one, I’m being very personal, I challenge all the elders of our party to do the utmost to ensure there is unity in the party and first and foremost, to make it possible for Hon. Alan Kyerematen to rethink his steps and come back.
“I challenge the elders and indeed, President Kufuor, he is the most senior person in the party, it’ll be a failure on your part if you’re not able to make sure there is unity. A leader who is remembered and said of him that he would have made things better after is death is regarded as not bequeathing a legacy, meaning he didn’t put things in the right perspective when he was alive.
“All those people in leadership now, make sure that you leave a legacy for now that you’ll be proud of, even in your retirement. If you don’t do that and you leave a disgruntled group, leave a skeptic group, then it’s a challenge on your leadership. Leadership is when it is felt when you’re not there so I put this challenge to all of us, let us endeavour to ensure that we have a legacy that is worth taking care of and that’s worth being proud of,” he admonished.
He extended his counsel to Mr. Kyerematen.
“So, Hon. Alan Kyerematen, you have a right but it’s not always a case of all your personal rights are collectively good for a collective right so at a point in time, think of the people who followed you to this position and don’t leave them to the dog to devour. Bring your weight to support them. They may also generate out of you, a future by the way you lead them,” he counseled.
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