Kufuor Weeps Over 'Cash'

If Anybody thought His Excellency, President J. A. Kufuor has given up his support for the candidacy of Mr. John Alan Kyerematen, former Minister of Trade Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI, and would yield to public outcry for neutrality as declared in recent times, then the person is in for another shocker.

It is now evident that the President on Tuesday compromised his position and went ahead to break his own public vow and proclamation not to support any candidate for the NPP flagbearership. He met ring leaders and charged them to ensure that Mr. Kyerematen swept the greater chunk of votes at the heartland of the Danquah-Busia party ahead of the congress.

At the secret meeting held at the Presidency situated at the Regional Residency in the regional administration compound from around 8:30 am to 11: 20 am on that fateful day, President Kufuor reportedly wept bitterly because he had had many reports from the region suggesting that his anointed man, popularly known as "Alan Cash", might not get the nod as he desired.

The meeting, which was attended by the Regional Minister, Mr. Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah; his deputy, Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi; and some constituency chairmen namely Messrs Henry Kwabena Kokofu, George Kofi Adjei, Asare Bediako, D. K. Adusei, Nana Adu Asabre and Nana Osei Mensah of Bantama, Nhyiaeso, Asokwa, Kumawu Asante-Akim North and Manhyia respectively, was strictly by invitation with the purpose of rebuking and causing them to work hard, or he (Mr. Kufuor) would retreat.

Mr. Kufuor was reported to have asked his men to furnish him with answers and convincing theories that they would be use to ensure that Alan Kyerematen was elected upon his return from an Africa Union Emergency Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Chronicle's intelligence sources at the meeting said President Kufuor, bobbling over with anxiety and disenchantment was categorical in demanding to know whether Alan was capable of winning the race so as to take a new decision as to who he (Kufuor) would support.

According to our sources, Nana Osei Mensah and Mr. D. K. Adusei received the hardest of all the presidential rebuke because it was believed that they are thwarting efforts and continuously instigating potential delegates against President Kufuor's wish.

The paper gathered further that President Kufuor said the ring leaders were deceiving him into thinking that all indicators were pointing to John Kyerematen having a smooth sail, but he realised rather too late that that was not the case. He allegedly warned them not to play with him so that the episode of Mr. Stephen Ayensu Ntim - "shout Ntim and vote Mac Manu" - did not happen again since resources being pumped into ensuring that Alan emerged victorious were enormous. Meanwhile, the said meeting affected the official launch of Prof. Mike Oquaye's campaign, so he had to defer it to yesterday, and was held at the Centre for National Culture in Kumasi. This was because Messrs Henry Kokofu and George Kofi Adjei were coincidentally the co-chairmen for the official launching of the former Minister of Communications and Energy's presidential bid, but were at the same time locked up in the said meeting with President John Agyekum Kufuor at the regional residency, culminating in their late arrival at the launching.

This latest meeting, however, lends credence to a revelation by The Chronicle on Thursday, February 13, 2007 edition of a similar clandestine meeting at the same venue in which Mr. Kufuor made a presidential declaration to the effect that the likes of Osafo Maafo, Apraku, Dan Botwe, and Effah-Dartey should not be voted for by the delegates.

In that story, His Excellency compromised his neutrality and told constituency executives of the party in the Ashanti Region not to vote for any of those aspirants who he had dismissed as Ministers of State.