‘Alan lied’ NPP not hijacked – Justin Kodua

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has dismissed claims by Alan Kyerematen that the party has been hijacked by a selected group.

During his press conference on Monday, September 25, Mr Kyerematen announced his resignation from the party and declared his intention to contest the 2024 presidential election as an independent candidate.

He said, “The NPP has been hijacked by a selected group of party leaders and elders, and government appointees behind the curtain power brokers”.

Unfounded
But, at a news conference at the NPP headquarters in Accra on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, the General Secretary of the party, Justin Kodua Frimpong said Mr Kyerematn’s claims are unfounded.

“Guided by facts and data, the leadership of the party disagrees entirely with this assertion. Historically, the selection of flagbearers for political parties in Ghana had been the preserve of a privileged few until the New Patriotic Party took the bold decision to decentralize the process by expanding its electoral college to enfranchise some 106,590 delegates in 2010.”

He added: “Currently, about 200,000 delegates would be voting to select the Party’s next flag bearer relative to the estimated 1,998 who did same in 1992. Clearly, the quantum leap to 200,000 delegates in 2023 underscores the decentralization of power to all party stakeholders and defeats the assertion that the party has been hijacked by a privileged few”.

At the end of the press conference, the NPP National Executives sang the party’s song.

No intimidation
He further rubbished Mr. Kyerematen’s claims of intimidation against his supporters emphasising that government appointees including cabinet ministers who openly declared support for him are still at post.
“In reference to Mr Kyerematen’s concerns, which include allegations of intimidation against his supporters, it is noteworthy that certain government appointees, including cabinet ministers, who openly declared their support for him are still at post and have never been intimidated,” he stated.

Acceptance
The party, according to the General Secretary, has accepted the resignation of Mr Kyerematen.

Mr Kodua however expressed disappointment that the former flag bearer aspirant did not give prior notification to the party’s leadership before the public announcement.

He said Mr Kyerematen’s decision was “pre-meditated”, given the mode of his resignation through a press conference. “The disappointing part is the mode in which he decided to resign from the party, which was through a press conference without prior notice to the party. The party wants to believe that by his decision to hold the press conference to resign without first informing the leadership of the party suggests that he has made a premeditated and irrevocable decision to resign from the party.”

Mr Kodua appealed to all members of the NPP who previously supported Kyerematen to remain committed to the party’s effort to win the 2024 General Elections.