The leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has rejected claims that the party has been hijacked by a select few.
Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen during a press conference on Monday, September 25, resigned from the party and declared his intention to contest as an independent candidate.
Alan claimed that the party has been “hijacked by a selected group of Party leaders and elders, and government appointees behind the curtain power brokers”.
But responding to him on Tuesday, September 26, during a press conference, the General Secretary of NPP, Justin Koduah, dismissed the assertion.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the leadership of the Party equally disagrees with assertions made by Mr. Kyerematen on page eight (8) of his resignation address that ‘the Party has been hijacked by a selected group of Party leaders and elders, and government appointees behind the curtain power brokers’.”
“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 One Hundred and Six Thousand, Five-Hundred and Ninety (106,590) delegates in 2010.”
He added, “Currently, about Two Hundred Thousand (200,000) delegates would be voting to select the Party’s next flagbearer relative to the estimated One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Eight delegates (1,998) who did same in 1992. Clearly, the quantum leap to Two Hundred Thousand (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”.
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.