Power Struggle In Kintampo South NPP

Despite the intervention of President Kufuor and vice President Aliu Mahama to resolve the impasse between the defeated aspiring Parliamentary Candidate for Kintampo South, also the deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Yaw Adjei Duffour and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency, Mr. Kwasi Adu-Gyan, continued wrangling has divided the ranks of the party, which could create an opportunity for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to win the seat.

It was reported that during the vice President's last visit to the area, Mr. Duffour publicly pledged support for Mr. Adu-Gyan, an ICT Advisor to the Ministry of Communication and Technology and urged his supporters to forget what happened during the primaries and throw their weight behind the Parliamentary Candidate for the party to win the seat.

But the campaign manager of Mr. Adu-Gyan has dismissed Mr. Duffour's declaration as one made under duress and the conspicuous absence of Mr. Duffuor at the launch of the NPP campaign at Jema, the constituency capital, seemed to have lent credence to this assertion.

The Chronicle investigation into the impasse showed that the deputy Minister is allegedly sponsoring a member of his team who had crossed carpet to contest as the Democratic People's Party (DPP) parliamentary candidate while another member from his camp is the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) parliamentary candidate.

However, these allegations have been debunked by sources close to the deputy minister, who have blamed Mr. Adu-Gyan for the non-cooperation between the two.

According to the sources, during the visit of President Kufour to the area recently, Mr. Adu-Gyan was said to have cancelled the name of the deputy Minister from a speech that was to be read to show appreciation to the President for appointing Mr. Duffour as a deputy Minister.

However, the reader, the Assemblyman for Jema insisted that the name be maintained and this issue deepened their differences.

Following the absence of the deputy minister and his followers, the NPP rally at Jema witnessed poor attendance because most of the people from the town boycotted it.

Meanwhile, members of Mr. Duffour's camp have reportedly refused to hand over the keys to the NPP constituency office to the constituency executives who are mainly Mr. Adu-Gyan's supporters, saying the office was acquired in name of Mr. Duffour, not in the name of the party. This has compelled the executives to look for a temporary office.

Addressing the rally at Jema, the Minister of Railways, Ports and Harbors, Prof. Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi advised the NPP supporters in the constituency to rally behind Mr. Adu-Gyan to ensure victory for both President Kufuor and the parliamentary candidate.

According to him, the impasse between Mr. Adu-Gyan and Mr. Duffuor had been resolved; therefore, his supporters should be given the chance to participate in the campaign activities of Mr. Adu-Gyan.

He said, “Please, I plead with you all to bury your differences and let us win the seat for NPP. Victory for Kufuor without Adu-Gyan is meaningless, so do not try the skirt and blouse voting pattern here in Kintampo South.”

Prof. Ameyaw- Akumfi said he was particularly worried about the attitude of the polling station executives in the constituency towards the parliamentary candidate. “If you said you would not support the NPP and decided to go to NDC, they would not admit you, because they know you cannot do anything better for them, so I implore you to desist from that act,” he added.

According to him, if they became upset and refused to vote at all, the NPP would lose and not Mr. Adu-Gyan.

Mr. Adu-Gyan said he was optimistic that he would win the seat and, therefore, urged all NPP supporters, irrespective of their differences, to vote for him. He said as an ICT specialist, he would ensure that the constituency, particularly schools, was well equipped with computers.

The Parliamentary candidate also touched on his aim of improving on education, health and reduction of poverty in the area, saying he could only do all these things if the people gave him their mandate.