Proposal triggers reactions within the party
Former NPP MP accuses Bawumia of being alien to the party
Nana Akomea, the Managing Director of STC and former Director of Communications for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), has stated that he stands by his proposal that a Bawumia-Alan ticket is the best combination for the NPP to go into the next election.
According to him, it was clear that Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and the Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen are the two frontrunners to succeed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
His proposal, made in an interview on Citi TV last week, did not state which of the two contenders should be the candidate and who should be the running mate.
Responding to the reactions that his proposal has generated on Metro TV's Good Morning Ghana programme on May 4, 2022, Akomea said he stood by his proposal and that stalwarts in the party had privately confided in him that the time for such a proposal was now.
"How is it that a call for consensus can spark anger? What are the motives for the anger? This has been my view for now and it will be my view till we finish this presidential ticket. Whether the party takes it (or not) as a member of the party, this is my view.
"I mentioned it here on Metro TV and I haven’t changed. Citi TV came right to my office… it was a personality interview and it came to NPP politics, national politics and I said I believed that this is a good way forward for the party," he stressed.
Mpiani reacts to Akomea's proposal
Kwadwo Mpiani, a former Chief of Staff, whiles reacting to Akomea's proposal all but rejected the proposal stating that the NPP should allow the contest [presidential primary] to happen.
In an interview with Citi News monitored by GhanaWeb, the former Chief of Staff explained, "the problem as I [Mpiani] see it here is that who is going to be the presidential candidate and who is going to be a running mate?"
He added, "In politics also, we all have our ambitions. Maybe it is my ambition to be a president, not a vice-president. And so why do you bring [me], because I'm trying to contest to be a presidential candidate, why do you join me with another person for me to become say, a vice-presidential candidate.
"So I don't know, it is easier said than done. Ambitions in politics are different. Somebody wants to be a minister, somebody wants to be a vice-president."
"Somebody's ambition is to become a president. And if his ambition is to become a president, maybe, if you suggest to him to become a running mate which will make him a vice-president, he will say thank you, I'm not interested. So that is the way I see it," Kwadwo Mpiani said.
Alan Kyerematen and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia