NPP can welcome Alan Kyerematen as a member, not flagbearer – Joe Wise

Former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Bekwai MP, Joseph Osei Owusu, popularly known as Joe Wise, has said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) can welcome Alan Kyerematen back into the party but cannot make him its flagbearer without following the established election process.

He said the party had completed its procedure for electing a flagbearer for the 2028 general elections, making it difficult for Mr Kyerematen to assume the position if he decides to return.

Mr Kyerematen, a former Trade and Industry Minister, left the NPP in 2023 after raising concerns about what he described as unfair treatment within the party.

He subsequently contested the 2024 general elections as an independent candidate under the Movement for Change before establishing the United Party.

In a recent interview with DW Africa, Alan Kyerematen responded affirmatively when asked whether he would accept an invitation to return to the NPP as its flagbearer.

Reacting to his comments in an interview with the media at an NPP sensitisation programme for constituency secretaries in Kumasi, Mr Osei Owusu said the party could not bypass its established process to accommodate him.

“The party has a channel of electing a flagbearer, and that procedure has been completed. So, if Bawumia finishes his term and Alan comes back, we will see whether he can go unopposed. But for now, I don’t think the party can accept him as flagbearer,” he said.

Mr Osei Owusu, however, maintained that the former minister remains welcome in the party because of his contributions over the years.

“Alan Kyerematen has duly served the party in so many ways, so if he comes, we will accept him,” he stated.

The comments come as the NPP prepares for the 2028 general elections, with former Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia serving as the party’s flagbearer-elect following his victory in the party’s presidential primary in January this year.