Alan for 2016 Campaign Starts

...Akufo Addo ‘Mad’ at Kwabena Agyepong

With barely ten days to the December 7 general elections, it appears the long-standing feud between the two most outstanding power blocs in the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), would simply not go away.

Flawless intelligence pieces picked up by The Al-Hajj as of press time yesterday, have it that the Ashanti caucus with former President, John Agyekum Kufuor as the leader, have fashioned out the necessary mechanism in order to carry out an anti-Akyem agenda; and precisely, to ditch the party’s flagbearer, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo ahead of the upcoming election.

This they believe will make it easier for the former Trade and Industry Minister, and the onetime NPP presidential aspirant, John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen to become the flagbearer of the NPP in 2016.

Impeccable sources close to the Ashanti power blocs disclose to The Al-Hajj that their objective is to let Ghanaians know that it will be suicidal to entrust the destiny of this country into the hands of Nana Akufo-Addo, hence the need to make things difficult for him in winning the 2012 presidential election.

The Ashanti sect also believe that, if Akufo-Addo is ‘let unchecked’ to win the 2012 election, he will firmly lay his grips on the presidential slot and push Akyems to take control of the party, aside that he will want to contest again in 2016, despite his advancing age, however, if he loses the impending election, he will be rejected by delegates if he decides to contest again.

It is of common knowledge that since Nana Akufo-Addo won the party’s bid to lead the elephant family into the 2012 elections, ex-president Kufuor, whose dislike for Nana Akufo-Addo is not in doubt and some powerful Ashanti kingpins of the NPP have had sleepless night doing all they can to cut his dream short.

With barely ten days to the December 7 election, the Ashanti cabals in the NPP have intensified their well thought strategies to expose their own flagbearer and to bring to the notice of electorates how dishonest he will be if they make mistake in voting for him.

Latest among the Ashanti caucus to hoist the flag of destruction against Nana Akufo-Addo is a close confidant of John Alan Kojo Kyerematen and former press secretary to ex-president Kufuor, Kwabena Agyepong.

To set the tone for the salvos that could possible knock down the Akyem factions in the NPP, Kwabena Agyepong over the weekend on the news analysis program, Newsfile on MultiTV and Joy FM, confidently and deliberately revealed that Nana Akufo-Addo indeed attended Oxford University but refused to give details as to why his party’s flagbearer could not finish.

Ever since the pro-NDC group Research and Advocacy Platform questioned the motive behind Nana Akufo-Addo's exclusion of his academic credential at the prestigious institution from his CV and challenged the NPP presidential candidate to explain why he truncated his course at Oxford, the flag bearer through his spokespersons have purposefully, neither confirmed nor denied that Nana Akufo-Addo once enrolled as a student at Oxford university.

Instead, the NPP flagbearer and his spokespersons tries to wind around the issue and make it seem that Nana Akufo-Addo’s campaign team led by Baokye Agyako has tasked all party communicators to wind around the issue anytime it crops up for public discussing.

What broke the camel’s back was Kwabena Agyepong’s exposé on the subject that has been considered as an abominable matter among the Akyem caucus in the party, and those calling for clarity on the issue were playing mischief. It has been rumored that the flag bearer is said to be livid with the pronouncement by ex-president Kufuor’s former aide.

According to inner sources within the party, the NPP flagbearer is now highly convinced, Kwabena Agyepong’s assertion over the weekends lends credence to the fact that the Ashanti kingpins in the party dislike his candidature and have made it articles of faith to prune his presidential ambition.

“Aside working for Alan to become the flagbearer in 2016, the Ashanti caucus in the party since Nana Akufo-Addo’s election as the flag bearer have adopted a lukewarm attitude towards the 2012 campaign of the party and pronouncement by people like Kwabena Agyepong over the weakened perfectly confirms they are working against Nana for Alan to take over in 2016 as the party’s flag bearer” a source in a shaky voice hinted

The source could not fathom why Kwabena Agyepong did not cite reasons why Nana Addo truncated his program at oxford, but added that his conduct was part of a ground scheme by former president Kufuor and his group to re-enforced the believe that Nana Addo was sacked from Oxford University for allegedly smoking wee.

This current development within the NPP confirms the lead story of The Al-Hajj’s Thursday, November 15, 2012 edition with headline “NPP IN WAKE KEEPING-OVER 2016 PRESIDENETIAL ASPIRANTS” which revealed how groups within the NPP have re-ignited the bitter resentments amongst the party, purportedly championing the 2016 presidential ambition of Mr. Alan Kyerematen and other candidates, in the face of the upcoming election.

Checks by The Al-Hajj indicates that two groups have been formed on facebook to champion the 2016 presidential bid of Alan Kyerematen and also to campaign for parliamentary candidates of the NPP whose allegiances are towards the former Trade Minister.