Trade and Industry Minister, Alan John Kyerematen, has spoken in the clearest terms that he will be contesting for the New Patriotic Party’s presidential flag-bearership slot.
The Minister is known to be a frontrunner in the keenly awaited race to lead the NPP into the 2024 elections, with Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia his closest contender.
In a UTV video clip shared on social media, Alan is heard stating that he has in the past sacrificed for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to lead a united party into the 2008 election and that it was time that others sacrificed for him to lead.
Addressing a crowd of party faithful, he is heard saying: “You remember when we went to Legon to elect a leader, you remember there were only two people out of the 17, who and who? Alan and Nana Addo, you remember?
“I had over 32% and Nana had over 40%, but because of the unity of the party, I decided that I will support Nana so that we all rally behind him. It is time for other people to sacrifice and give Alan the chance to lead this party,” he stated.
The race for who leads the NPP has heated up since Akufo-Addo secured his final mandate after the 2020 polls. The party’s ‘Break The 8’ slogan has also gained ground as they look to win a historic third successive tenure.
Background
In 2007, the NPP needed to elect a flag-bearer for president after Kufuor was completing his two terms in office. A party congress held at Legon saw 17 contenders in the race.
After two days of voting and counting, Nana Akufo-Addo was declared the winner and given the opportunity to lead the NPP into the 2008 election. He obtained 47 percent of the total vote cast while his closest challenger, Alan Kyeremateng obtained 32 percent.
Akufo-Addo lost the main election to John Evans Atta Mills. In 2016 ahead of the 2016 vote Akufo-Addo trounced Alan at the primaries with over 90% to clinch the slot but again lost the vote to John Dramani Mahama.
In 2016, he won the elections after beating Mahama and subsequently secured reelection in 2020. The NPP is now seeking to elect a flagbearer for 2024.
Source: BroadcastGhana
