Tomorrow is a very big day in the lives of members of the elephant family in this nation. The political party founded on the philosophy of free thinking and enterprise, will assemble 200,000 delegates at all the 275 constituencies in the 16 regions of Ghana, as well as the national headquarters of the New Patriotic Party, to cast their votes, that will ultimately announce the new leader of the party.
The vote will also determine who among the remaining four, out of the original 10 contestants, is most equipped to lead the NPP into the 2024 Presidential elections.
Waiting for the winner is the NDC candidate in the red corner, in the person of former President John Dramani Mahama, who admitted on the campaign trail in 2016 that the economy was down to the bones.
Whether or not Mr. Mahama is of any serious value to the body politic, is another issue that would be discussed when the time comes for the national vote.
As we wait for that moment, it is significant to state that the man I call the ‘scandal-soaked’ former Head of State is already in his read corner, waiting for the referee’s instructions.
Tomorrow’s vote has several implications, especially for the elephant family. Apart from determining the person who would lead the NPP into the Presidential race next year, it would determine the smoothness level of some of the contestants who have carried venom in their mouths, while touring the 275 constituencies canvasing for votes.
The first casualty in this long drawn-out exercise is Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, who has had two spells as Minister of Trade in both Kufuor and Akufo-Addo administrations and still portrays himself as if he has been short-changed in the party that propped him up.
Alan has resigned from the NPP and has advertised the symbol of the Butterfly to take him to Jubilee House, without the patronage of a political party.
Take it from me that Alan does not intend to go to the Jubilee House. He knows as well as you do, dear reader, that he cannot reach Jubilee House in Ghana, without the support-base from a political party.
From my analysis as a journalist with several years of experience in the political terrain, Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanteng is only doing the biding of the National Democratic Congress. His main aim is to stop the NPP from winning the 2024 vote, I dare state.
Every single vote for the Butterfly is a vote denied by the elephant. It is as simple as ABC that Mr. Kyeremanteng’s satisfaction for creating the Butterfly effect, is to deny access to the Jubilee House to his former colleagues in the NPP. SIMPLICITA!
That is one reason why the outcome of tomorrow’s vote is critical for the survival of the elephant family in national politics.
Four people will be on the ballot paper tomorrow. In order of appearance, there is maverick Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, Vice-President Alhaji Mahamadu Bawumiah, former Minister of Agriculture Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto and Mr. Francis Addai-Nimo, former Member of Parliament for Mampong, in the Ashanti Region.
It is very difficult to make a case for Mr. Addai-Nimo, as a serious presidential material, given his low-key status in the political game. It is true that he once represented the people of Mampong in Parliament. But he was pushed out after barely two political seasons. If he was unable to withstand the pressure in one constituency, it is very difficult to make a case for him, as a national icon.
Mr. Addai-Nimo will make no impact on the ballot paper. He will struggle to gain two percent when the results are announced before sunset tomorrow.
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto has done his bit to improve the food situation in the country. Throughout the Akufo-Addo era, there has never been a shortage of local foodstuff. As the man championing the government programme of Planting for Food and Jobs, Dr. Afriyie Akoto has done well for himself.
I shudder to think what would have happened to the average Ghanaian if foodstuffs like plantain, yam, cassava and maize have not been in season throughout the year. Rainfall throughout the year has helped. But I believe someone would have whispered in his ears that the abundance of plantain does not mean that Ghanaians are about to accept his quest to take residence at the Jubilee House.
Politically, not many Ghanaians fancy him as a national leader. Less I forget, it was Dr. Afriyie’s father, who as Chief Linguist to Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh II, founded the National Liberation Movement which merged with other entities to form the United Party, which is the fore-runner to the establishment of the New Patriotic Party.
Even at Bantama in Kumasi, where he was the Member of Parliament, not many are rooting for his candidature. Dr. Akoto is not a face that will go beyond the NPP Presidential Primary tomorrow, leading to a two-horse race for the NPP ticket.
Mr. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong was a surprise package during the super delegates conference last September; coming from nowhere to a respectable second, in the course of which he uprooted Alan Cash from the NPP race.
Since then, quite some volume of water has passed under the bridge, much of it muddy. Kennedy, not a regular attendant to the affairs of Parliament, has had the time to visit all the 275 constituencies in this country.
One would state with emphasis that he has done well for himself. The concern for officials of the NPP is not his presence. It is the foul-mouth message he has carried to every nook and cranny of politics in this country that has been the concern. His modus operandi is to run-down the party that made him rich, as well as its leadership.
Quite recently, he courted huge publicity by crowing at the roof-top that those who lead governance of this country on behalf of the NPP had asked for his withdrawal in the Presidential race, in return for US$800 million handout. One needs not to scratch his head to know that it is one huge lie. The whole country has gone to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout of US$600 million a year.
Even when the whole package is turned over to him, there would be a deficit of US$200m. The whole Kennedy Agyapong campaign is hinged on character assassination, lies and unprofessional conduct.
Unfortunately, his ‘Showdown’ mantra has caught on with the youth wing of the party, otherwise referred to as ‘Polling Booth Executives.’
Tomorrow’s Electoral College of 200,000 is made up of more than 100,000 members of the ‘Polling Booth Executives’. That is the danger.
Imagine the NPP being led into the Presidential election by foul-mouthed Kennedy Agyapong. So far, one research company has put him slightly ahead of the Vice-President.
Whoever told Kennedy Agyapong that he is a presidential material has created a headache for the party leadership that cannot heal even when he loses the vote tomorrow. As it is, whatever happens at the polls, Mr. Agyapong would feel that he has enough power in the party to ruffle feathers anytime he wants to.
The good news is that Vice-President Alhaji (Dr.) Mahamadu Bawumia has carried himself well. There is every indication that he will win handsomely tomorrow. One opinion poll puts Dr. Bawumia 80 percent ahead. If there should be sense and sensibility in the elephant family, the Vice-President must take the nod.
I am told that the NPP in the United States voted yesterday. The results The Ghanaians in America gave Vice-President Bawumia 77.04 percent of the vote.
Kennedy Agyapong was credited with 22%, Dr. OwusuAfriyieAkoto had a paltry 0.37% and Addai Nimo got 0.37%.
Everything being equal, I expect a similar score-line tomorrow. I make Vice-President Alhaji (Dr.) Bawumia winner by a mile.
The problem with tomorrow’s vote is that it could re-open NPP’s old would and unfortunately lead to more rancour and bitterness.
Ebo Quansah in Accra
