I haven't changed my mind - Alan K

John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, former New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential aspirant who announced his resignation from the ruling party last week, has indicated that the decision he took eight days ago is irrevocable.

Falling just short of whether he would join another political party or go solo as an independent candidate, he further stated that his next political step, outside the NPP, would be one that would bring hope to all Ghanaians, irrespective of their political affiliations, religious or ethnic backgrounds.

Alan, who said his main reason for opting out of the party he helped to found 16 years ago was because his supporters were being harassed, said no party was above the national interest.

“I concede in all humility, that no single individual is more important than the party to which he belongs, but we must also not lose sight of the fact that national interest is superior to the interest of any single party.

In this regard, I will very soon give a firm indication about the role that I expect to play on the political landscape in the country, which I believe will bring hope and confidence to all Ghanaians, irrespective of their political affiliations, religious or ethnic backgrounds,” he said in a statement issued in Accra yesterday.

Kyerematen, who was breaking his silence since he opted out of the NPP, noted that he had not rescinded his decision, and stressed that his resignation still holds.

The five-paragraph release, which bore no date and letterhead but was hand-delivered in a large brown envelope to the media, pointed out that even though the party took a number of steps to get him back, the mediation was inconclusive.

Alan’s statement, which goes to confirm DAILY GUIDE’s lead story of yesterday, noted that even though he took the decision on principles, the media had created the impression that he was inconsistent and was finding a way back.

Interestingly, Mr. Kyerematen’s second ‘bombshell’ in one week, came at a time when members of the Steering Committee of the NPP, including the national chairman, Peter Mac-Manu, were locked up in a meeting at the party headquarters to address the concerns raised.

“I have monitored extensively media reportage and discussions over the past week, following my decision to resign from the NPP.

It is clear that there is a calculated attempt engineered from certain quarters, to create public disaffection against me for taking a decision based on principles, and to create the impression that I am vacillating on my decision to resign, thereby displaying inconsistency in thought and judgment.

I wish to state categorically that I have not rescinded my decision to resign from the party,” he stated.

Alan indicated that while the party wanted him to, as a first step, rescind his decision in order to pave way for his concerns to be addressed, he contended that the opposite should be the case.

“I am in the same vein compelled to indicate that efforts aimed at mediation led by former Chairman of the party, Mr. B.J. da Rocha were inconclusive.

The mediator's proposal was for a withdrawal of my resignation unconditionally, without a substantive discussion of the concerns raised in my letter as well as other concerns discussed with the party leadership on several occasions.

I have disagreed with this proposal because in my humble opinion, it does not resolve the matter on hand.”

The onetime Trade and Industry Minister, who did not mince words on his position, cautioned that both his former party and himself stand to lose in the matter if it was not handled conscientiously.

“I believe it would be in the best interest of both the NPP and my good self not to have the general public continue to feed on this matter.

Under the circumstances, to avoid creating further doubt in the minds of friends and foe alike, I wish to use this opportunity to reaffirm that my decision to resign from the party still holds.”

According to him, he resorted to his hardline purely based on the failure of the leadership of the party to take concrete action to address fundamental issues within it, adding that those issues stand the risk of undermining its strength, and possibly affecting its fortunes in the December elections.

DAILY GUIDE has gathered that Mr. Mac-Manu, upon his return from Australia yesterday, rushed to join a Steering Committee meeting to address Alan’s concerns.

The paper is also reliably informed that long before yesterday’s press release, Alan was also billed to hold a one-on-one meeting with the NPP flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Speaking on radio yesterday, his spokesperson, John Kuma, described Alan as a patient man who takes decisions upon careful analysis of the situation.

Kyerematen, popularly called ‘Alan Cash’, was the runner-up in the party’s competitive flagbearership race at the December 22, 2007 Legon congress.

His decision to concede victory to Nana Addo, with the explanation that he wanted to save the party a second round contest, won him a lot of admiration from the party’s foot-soldiers.

But the perception soon changed with his resignation last week.

The resignation was greeted with mixed reactions. While some party members contended that his exit would have zero effect on the fortunes of the party and therefore dared him to go to hell, others simply pleaded with him to return, saying that politics is a game of numbers.