Addressing NPP delegates in the heat of the 2007 presidential primary, then President Kufuor urged the party delegates to carefully scrutinize the persona of the candidates and ensure that the person who is given the nod is a marketable product to both members and the entire citizenry.
According to him, the delegates should elect a candidate who can secure victory for the party and also win the sympathies of all Ghanaians including the security services such as the Military and the Police.
Peacefmonline.com has in its possession a copy of the 2007 video tape where Ex-President Kufour is seen sternly warning delegates against choosing a leader who "is always full of tension and fighting and all sort of things; we must have to be careful about. The party must stay together."
"We must look for somebody who will continue to hold the party together. We must not go in for anybody who will divide us. Because we by ourselves alone cannot get all the votes we need. All pro-NPP people will vote but then I don't think we will make the 50 plus 1 vote to win at one-touch. This is why we need to stay together so that we will be attractive to draw other people to join to go beyond the absolute majority."
Ex-President Kufour was also seen in the video, admonishing the delegates to denounce any candidate who tries to induce them with money in order to secure their vote.
He urged the delegates to "listen to everybody" but "not the money they will bring around. If they call you, give you 10 million and you think because of that you're going; when you want to catch chicken (what do you do?) - You give corn but then that corn might lead to its death.
"So, the candidate that will come; it's not the money. Listen, ask questions, see how the mind works, look at his nature and see whether the party, he will lead us altogether like one family and then after the party; the nation [the majority of the nation] will accept this person for leader."
To him, a potential candidate for the Presidential slot is someone "with the experience and with all due respect - the wisdom - to be able to keep the country united. To secure the nation, to gain the respect of the forces - the military, the police, the Chiefs - look out for that because we know the history. Some people have been given power only to lose it just like that. We don't want that."
"Then when we've identified such a person, we must also consider whether if we present this person to the rest of the country, all of Ghana; he must be the type" that Ghanaians will look at and say "with this candidate, we are fully secured and unafraid of tomorrow or what lies ahead...that he is a good person...That's how to get the majority..."
Some political pundits say it appears Kufuor's 2007 warning is what candidate Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten is using as his campaign message to win the confidence of NPP delegates in the 2014 presidential primaries which will be held across the country on Saturday, October 18.
Quite recently, Nana Ohene Ntow, Spokesperson for Alan Kyerematen told Okay Fm in an interview that his candidate is the right material for the party since he can end the bickering and discrimination within the NPP.
“I want to tell my party faithful and the delegates that it is not a candidate we need in NPP; we need a President and if we vote for Alan Kyerematen, he will not only become a candidate but rather a President because he knows the job and he is very humble to work with anybody irrespective of one’s Presidential allegiance within the party. He respects people and does not discriminate; he is the only person who can bring unity to end the bickering in the party…," he told Kwame Nkrumah "Tikese", host of the show.
Three aspirants; Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, Francis Addai Nimoh and Kwadwo Alan Kyeremateng, are contesting for the party’s flagbearer position.
But as to whether the delegates have bought into Alan's campaign message remains to be seen.
Watch the video below:
| Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana/ email address: ameyawpeacefmonline@gmail.com |
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