body-container-line-1
24.09.2014 Politics

Nana Buying My Boys…Alan Cries Foul

By Daily Guide
Nana Buying My BoysAlan Cries Foul
24.09.2014 LISTEN

The 'cash-man', Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, who is contesting the flagbearer position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the third time in a row, has said members of his campaign team are deserting him because they are being induced with money by the camp of the lead contender, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Alan's boys have been declaring support for the candidature of Nana Akufo-Addo in droves; but Mr Kyerematen said the desertion was motivated by monetary inducement.

One of Alan's spokespersons, Phillip Longdon, said the campaign team had therefore started observing the development and was mapping out a strategy against what he termed 'propaganda moves' from the Akufo-Addo camp.

'…Our people are being made aware of what is going on, the monies that are changing hands and the kind of inducements and enticements that are going on to get people to vote in a particular way, and people are seeing how they've been betrayed by certain leaders of the party,' he said in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM yesterday.

Key and known supporters of Alan, including the current Ashanti Regional Chairman of the party, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, aka Chairman Wontumi, former Asokwa MP Maxwell Kofi Jumah, former Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Tamale, Mohammed Amin Anta, former Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Kintampo, Abdulai Razak, members of the NPP Communication team, Stephen Amoah and John Kumah and a host of others had all declared support for Akufo-Addo.

There was also a report that the 'Get Alan Kyerematen Elected' (GAKE) Coordinator, Katakyie Opoku Agyemang, was trying to dump the Alan agenda for a neutral position, having allegedly failed to get money from his mentor to champion the cause of the latter.

Many are those who consider the shocking complaint as an excuse in the event of a defeat on October 18 when the party goes to congress to elect a flagbearer to lead the NPP for the 2016 general elections.

But Phillip Longdon said the Alan camp remained resolute and unshaken by the defections because they were 'not genuine.'

 
Confusion
Interestingly, sometime last week, Coordinator for the pro-Alan GAKE, Katakyie Opoku Agyemang, threatened to disband the group citing logistical and financial reasons.

In a supposed internal memo which went viral afterwards, the young man who had been badmouthing Nana Akufo-Addo since forming the group, indicated that 'it has become difficult for the group to achieve its target,' attributing it to logistical and financial constraints.

Even though he claimed GAKE which was formed on May 11, 2014 with an initial membership of 70 delegates, currently has a numerical strength of 50,125 across the country with Regional, Constituency, and Electoral Area Coordinators, Katakyie said, 'I intend to disband GAKE by the close of next week', promising to organise and address a press conference to that effect in Kumasi sometime this week.

Many political observers are wondering why the Coordinator of a group which started with an initial membership of 70 people and now boasts of a numerical strength of not less than 50,000 members across the country would want to disband the group.

Apparently, Katakyie had been promised some money to undertake the project which was not forthcoming and therefore he wanted to rock the boat in frustration.

 
In-fighting

Just a day or two after the issue of his planned disbandment and intended press conference became public, other members of GAKE led by its secretary, one Gabriel Osei Kuffuor, the Communications Director, Aboagye Danso, and two other members, Joseph Oppong and Maxwell Gyamfi, put out a press statement in which they accused Katakyie of using the name of the group to solicit funds.

'The Coordinator has joined the fray in calling on GAKE to withdraw its support for Alan with a flimsy excuse that his expectation of receiving large sums of money from Alan for GAKE activities has not materialised; hence, the move to withdraw support for Alan,' disgruntled GAKE members said in a statement.

They therefore reaffirmed their unflinching support for Alan Kyerematen as 'the man who has what it takes to win power for NPP' insisting that 'the formation of GAKE was not for purposes of amassing wealth.'

They called on Katakyie Opoku Agyemeng 'to give genuine support to Alan, a man who has proved over the years that he has the interest of the grassroots at heart, and that he can unite the party and win power for us in 2016.'

By Charles Takyi-Boadu 

body-container-line