Yaw Buaben Asamoa, the former member of parliament for the Adentan Constituency, has accused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of being disloyal to Alan Kyerematen, the former minister of trade and industry and presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Alan Kyerematen, according to Buaben Asamoa, sacrificed his own presidential ambitions in order to support Akufo-Addo, with the understanding that Akufo-Addo would transfer the party leadership to him after his tenure.
In an interview with Wontumi TV on May 19, 2023, Buaben Asamoa revealed that during the 2007 and 2008 NPP primaries, which featured seventeen strong candidates and twelve cabinet members, Alan Kyerematen and Alhaji Aliu Mahama finished second and third, respectively.
Alan Kyerematen, however, selflessly sacrificed his opportunity to compete against Akufo-Addo in a runoff to express his support for Akufo-Addo's effort to promote unity within the party and increase their chances of winning the general elections.
"Alan put in a lot of work in 2007 and 2008, and I'm not sure we'll ever see a primary like that in Ghana again, given that there were seventeen strong candidates, twelve of whom were cabinet members, and a number of notable figures contending at the time.
What took place after the presidency of Kufuor? People accused Kufuor of supporting Alan and opposed him because they desired Nana Addo; however, Kufuor concurred. Thus, we journeyed to Legon for the primaries, where Alan finished second among all the large men.
"At the time, vice president Alhaji Aliu Mahama, may his soul rest in peace, was third and Alan was second, so they were supposed to go into a run-off, but Alan sacrificed his position for Akufo-Addo, saying, 'My senior brother Nana Addo, I give you the go-ahead.'" "Therefore, run for president so that our unity and that of the party can be strengthened and so that we can also win the elections," he advised. "I am making this sacrifice for you."
Asamoa asserted that President Akufo-Addo is currently supporting a different candidate to succeed him, contrary to the party's customary practice of supporting the runner-up from the previous election.
Buaben Asamoa also noted the absurdity of the situation, recalling how Akufo-Addo had previously criticized former President Kufour for allegedly supporting Alan Kyerematen instead of him during Akufo-Addo's own 2007 and 2008 presidential primary campaigns.
"But if you check now, his senior brother's (Akufo-Addo) time is up and he is about to leave, we have heard that he has backed a different candidate to come and contest, and the party is saying that as tradition dictates like we used to do in the olden days as we did for you president, and in your own words, you said after Alan sacrificed for you, he has done well, in his own words, so in the future when it is your turn
Buaben Asamoa emphasized the promise Akufo-Addo made to Kyerematen, in which he acknowledged Kyerematen's sacrifice and indicated he would support Kyerematen to lead the party when his own term expired. Then, he expressed disappointment that Akufo-Addo appeared to have breached his promise, contrary to the norms and principles of the party.