According to rumours, the chairman of Groupe Nduom, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, was the one who inspired former President John Agyekum Kufuor to put his life story into writing. This occurred on Tuesday, August 8th, 2023, while the current President was paying a visit to the previous President at his home in Aburi.
Along with his wife Yvonne and the GN Corporate Affairs Manager Frank Owusu-Ofori, Dr. Nduom was present at the event. Reportedly, he also requested that the former President not omit the colourful and sometimes contentious incidents that took place during his administration. Dr. Nduom believed that by writing the book in this manner, it would provide readers with the opportunity to learn the genuine truth about a number of events that occurred during his time as President.
Many people now serving in the Akufo-Addo administration, as well as members of Parliament and officers at the highest levels of political parties, have had some sort of interaction with him or worked with him in some capacity. The current President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, previously held the positions of Attorney General, Minister of Justice, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was under his command that Akosua Frema Osei-Opare served as Chief of Staff. A number of individuals, including Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Nana Akomea, and Yaw Oafo-Maafo, were offered opportunities to serve in various capacities in the Kufuor Administration. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who is the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Albert Kan-Dapaah, who is the Minister for National Security, are two examples.
Dr. Nduom held the positions of Minister for Economic Planning, Minister for Energy, and Minister for Public Sector Reforms during his tenure in government. of addition to that, he presided over the National Development Planning Commission and the Millennium Development Authority as Chairman of both of those organisations.
Dr. Nduom claims that the constitution that is currently in effect has a provision for an executive presidency. People have a tendency to get this post mixed up with that of the prime minister under parliamentary systems of government. The president of Ghana is granted significantly more authority and discretion by the constitution than is accorded to the president of the United States. Despite this, some members of the party and ministers of state frequently behave as though the President is either one of them or the first among equals. He feels that former President Kufuor was subjected to this treatment and that he should relate his tale in order to assist in the education of members of the party as well as the public community regarding the kind of democratic dispensation that "we are living in." Dr. Nduom believes that the manner in which the previous President collaborated with and handled his various ministers and other appointees will be of interest to a large number of people.
Another topic that Dr. Nduom believes will be of interest is the former President's extensive personal interactions with other world leaders, including those from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Japan, and a great number of other countries. These interactions contributed to Ghana forging positive and cooperative relationships with other nations, which brought the country some positive benefits.
Dr. Nduom drew attention to the fact that some people believe that they are capable of performing better than the Kufuor Administration, and that as a result, they believe that if the previous president was able to become president again, then they, too, should work towards the same goal. According to him, this was one of the factors that contributed to the large number of people who ran for president after the previous one's tenure had expired.
Dr. Nduom and his wife were given a warm welcome by the previous president, who also provided them with lunch and refreshments. Dr. Nduom expressed his profound gratitude for this. In addition to this, the Nduoms brought other gifts with them, including a bouquet of flowers for Mrs. Theresa Kufuor, whom Dr. Nduom referred to as a "fellow Elminian."