Perhaps Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, an aspirant in the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) presidential nomination on August 7, this year, is in a race of his life.
After scaling an obvious frustration in his Central Regional tour early this month, the man is confronted with another plot by some NPP adherents from the Royal Ofori Panyn Fie, the seat of the Okyenhene at Kyebi in the Abuakwa traditional area of the Eastern Region. REPORT: KWABENA ASARE-BOAFO.
Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen
Rounds covered in parts of the Eastern Region, suggest that Alan’s intended visit to the Eastern Region will be his most difficult one, if the anti-Alan plans initiated at Kyebi, the home town of Nana Akufo-Addo, another of the aspirants succeeds.
Leading the onslaught is one Yaw Gorgie, an uncle of the Okyenhene and Nana Poku, a younger brother of the Akyem Abuakwa Royal Stool, who underground hounding by the paper offer credible indication, are out to convince many delegates in the Eastern Region, not to attend Alan’s tour and meeting in the Eastern Region.
The said Gorgie, Nana Poku together with other prominent Kyebi indigenes, who are part of the Akufo-Addo team, this reporter discovered, have even scheduled parallel meetings with delegates during Alan’s visit.
This reporter however gathered that Alan’s ambush is not related to the occupant of the Abuakwa stool.
This is in line with the Okyenhene’s open door policy for all aspirants in the NPP race and indeed all other candidates who would be vying for presidential nominations in other political parties.
Nana Akufo-Addo, according to some Kyebi indigenes, did not support the selection of Amoatia Ofori Panyin during the search for a King for the Akyem Abuakwa state, following the death of Osagyefo Kuntukununku.
Instead, sources disclosed, Nana supported his junior colleague who was then working in his chamber, Atta Akyea. Atta Akyea is a core member of the Nana Addo campaign team
There is also a believe within Kyebi circles because of his non-committal to his cause, the Okyenhene had been indifferent towards the Nana Addo campaign since 2007 when he first picked the slot as the NPP presidential candidate for the 2008 presidential election.
However a source at the Kyebi Palace discounted the claim, saying Nana Amoatia’s posture is only a measure of defining modern chieftaincy where a chief would have to be open to all who are aspiring not only for the highest office of the land but also any public office that required popular participation.
The paper particularly discovered at Atiwa, one of the constituencies in Eastern Region, where Alan is expected to kick-start his campaign, will also host some elements of the Nana Addo campaign team just at the same time of Alan’s visit.
The Gorgie plan, our findings discovered, would be replicated in all other constituencies of the Eastern Region during Alan’s visit.
Hon Yaw Osafo Maafo, the former MP for Oda in the Eastern Region leads Nana’s campaign team in the region.
“It is a way of creating divided attention when Alan visits”, a source disclosed to the paper. This reporter could not establish whether the Gorgie-led plot is supported by Nana Addo.
“I am not too sure that Nana will support such plan to torpedo Alan’s visit to the Eastern region, although in such circumstances, many party adherents engage in all manner of ill-motivated activities to boost their closeness to the candidate and also show their unalloyed support to the candidate”, a source privy to the plot disclosed to Today.
Yaw Gorgie and his group, the findings further established, is a retaliation of “the ill-treatment meted out to Nana Addo during his tour of the Ashanti region” which is believed to be the stronghold of Alan Kyerematen.
However, a source at the Alan campaign told the paper that Nana had one of the best receptions during his campaign in the Ashanti region and even challenged this reporter to the camera footage of the tour which the source admitted at a point became a bother to some of Alan’s men although Alan himself remained calm and optimistic about his bright chance in that region.
Another Alan source told this reporter “we are aware of the plot and at the appropriate time we will inform the national executive of the party accordingly”.
