Aliu To Partner Sekyi–Hughes

Even though Chronicle Intelligence indicated that Alhaji Aliu Mahama pulled a grudging consent from his boss John Agyekum Kofour to run, the number two man is enjoying great support from the number three man, the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon Begyina Sekyi Hughes, and could emerge as the running mate for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) should he win the primaries.

Chronicle gathered that the support of the Speaker stemmed from the fact that over the seven years of the NPP Administration, Aliu had understudied President Kufour and had acted as the President on many occasions. Party insiders who spoke to this Paper believe that the support of the Speaker was indeed one not shrouded with a hidden agenda. It had been made known to the people close to the campaign team of the Vice President. One strong Veep supporter in the Takoradi metropolis who is said to have been convinced by a message given to them by the Speaker told this Reporter that the “Speaker would definitely partner Aliu. Mark it, if our party elects him”.

If the Vice President is elected by the delegates and then the electorate, the current number two man will move to number one and the number three will shift to number two. But with Mr. Alan Kyeremanten, 50, now spoiling Aliu’s party in the competition, and others like Dan Botwe, Nana Addo, Osafo Maafo, Boakye Agyarko, closing in on the homestretch, the dream is fast receding into a mist. Sources close to the party however, revealed that with Hughes’ alleged support coming from the Central and Western Regions, the Speaker was doing every thing possible with his lobbying tactics to goad delegates and galvanize support from these regions to the camp of the Vice President in order to make sure that he got the nod of the NPP come December 22, 2007.

However, a bad incident has marred the Speaker’s chances with his wife evicting the Speaker’s nephew, Mr. Koomson, who was his engaged as his Personal Assistant for the last two years. Mrs. Hughes was the Regional Treasurer of the NPP in the Western Region. Alhaji Aliu Mahama who recently toured some parts of the Central Region, according to information received, was convinced that party delegates in the Region were solidly behind him and it was also established by this Paper that due to the alleged weight thrown behind him by the Speaker he could get a majority support from the party delegates in the two regions come December. The Speaker hails from Cape Coast, but practiced as a barrister in Takoradi for a long time.

Alhaji Aliu Mahama, the only candidate from the North out of the numerous candidates of the ruling party contesting the presidential race, received an award from the eminent chiefs of the three northern regions recently for his contribution to the development of the northern sector as well as his achievement as a son from that part of the country. Last week he also received an award from the Institute of Public Relations along side Pastor Mensa Otabil of International Central Gospel Church and Jake Otanka Obetsebi Lamptey, former Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations.

He declared his intention lately after many of the presidential aspirants had declared to contest the party’s flagbearership. He had cleared with his boss, John Agyekum Kufour, and had made known his intention to run for the party’s presidential slot. The sixty-one year old quantity surveyor and graduate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and technology on 16th of July this year, after clearing with his boss as stated above hit the road with his campaign in the Ashanti Region with all the state protocol and convoy which many believed had scared his fellow contenders.

Aliu Mahama who shot to stardom in the political landscape of Ghana out of the blue told his teeming supporters and the opposition NDC members in Tamale recently that it is God who chooses a leader and not man. He therefore believed as he met delegates of his party and his surprise visit to the NDC office in Tamale that it is an indication that he is the right choice for the NPP and believed that he needed a push from his own people. According to information gathered, the Vice President whose message now is all for unity has in all the regions he has so far toured told delegates that his experience as Vice President for two terms has made him the obvious candidate who stands tall among the other contenders.

However, one issue that refuses to go away is the question of his contribution to the party’s growth and fortunes in the three northern regions and Zongo communities which have largely remained the preserve of the National Democratic Congress. According to one of his supporters, many have asked this question over and over again that he, the (Veep) had not brought much on board as far as the support base of the party in the northern regions and Zongo communities were concerned, but the Vice President observed in his defence that he had answered this time and again that the support base of the party had increased tremendously since the 2000 elections.

He said the number two man had cited the 2000 elections where the party had obtained 15 percent votes from the Upper West Region, the home grounds of late Dr. Hilla Liman of the Third Republic which increased to 34 percent in the 2004 elections, a contribution he said he had made to the party with his inclusion in the government as the running mate to the President.

Meanwhile independently, Chronicle is privy to comments by some party supporters and delegates that it would be untenable for the NPP to elect Aliu Mahama as the presidential candidate of the party since he was not a candidate who could consolidate their support base and win souls for the party in the 2008 general elections. Aliu has been hunting for a running mate for some time now, and at one time was almost sold on iconoclast Honourable Isaac Edumade, MP for Ajumako. Setting his sight on Sekyi Highes may be an end of his search.