Akufo-Addo betrayed Jake - Asamoah Gyamfi

“They paid him with the wrong coin”

There is nothing so painful like been betrayed by someone you once helped hoping he would reciprocate same in future when the need arise.

It is even worse when a gentleman’s “you scratch my back I scratch yours” agreement entered into is exceptionally breach by the other party after you have duly fulfilled your part of the bargain.

That is the sorry state of defeated National Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party, Jake Otanka Obetsesbi Lamptey, who is not only licking his wounds and brooding over his loss at the Tamale congress of the NPP, but also feels betrayed and paid with the wrong coin by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Though his aide, Asamoah Gyamfi won’t confirm it, the general feeling in the former Chairman’s camp The aL-hAJJ has gathered, is one of grief interspersed with shock over how the twice defeated presidential candidate of the NPP and his linchpins stabbed Mr. Obetsebi Lamptey at the back when they dumped him ahead of the party’s conference in Tamale for his deputy, Mr Fred Oware, who also contested the National Chairman position but lost to Mr Paul AwantemiAfoko.

What heightened the sorrow and pain in Jake’s camp, Asamoah Gyamfi, who also doubles as Communications team member of the elephant party inadvertently revealed to The aL-hAJJ was how his boss, Jake surrendered his responsibility as leader of the party after the 2012 elections to Nana Akufo-Addo in order to ‘smoothen’ the path for his third presidential aspirations, only to be embarrassingly dumped few days to the conference.

Read the full interview bellow (conducted on Tuesday, April 15, 2014) Q: What is your view on the outcome of the NPP Conference in Tamale? Ans: The delegates have decided and for me I think in the wisdom of the delegates they’ve done what is right. That basically it is…none of the slates got their way, they decided to vote independently and all the slates that came up, they threw it overboard. My fear initially was that if we don’t take care we were going to have all Akan executives; flag bearer, General Secretary and Chairman, but the voting has been of regional balance and that is good for the image of the party. Q: what necessitated the few you spoke of? Ans: Basically, there were wrong signals sent that Nana Addo was initially backing Jake and on the eve of that he changed his mind to say he was supporting Fred Oware and the delegates felt that they couldn’t be toyed around like that and that if you don’t like Jake then why Fred Oware because they’re the same people. Why do you like Sir John…? Because they’re the same team so if you don’t like the leader of the team then all the players too are not good…so the delegates decided to vote independently and that was how come we got a reflection of that. Q: Is it true that Nana Addo was initially backing Jake but later had to dump him for Fred Oware? Ans: ooh yeah…he was backing Jake then he dumped him for Fred Oware base on pressure…as a result of pressure from people around him. Q: People like who? Ans: Most of the people around Nana Addo including MPs and leading members like Boakye Agyarko and those around him. Most of the people around Nana Addo didn’t want Jake to be the Chairman. Q: Why were they against his candidature? Ans: They pushed for Nana Addo to dump him. Well I don’t know but one of the reason was that Jake said that the campaign center…usually it is Nana Addo who set up the campaign center which run parallel to the party so Jake said when he wins he will make sure the campaign center doesn’t come on board and what that meant is that all those around Nana Addo will become jobless so they decided that they won’t go for him, they’ll rather go for Fred Oware who they think is weak and not too strong in the party and would allow them to continue to do what they are doing. Q: Why was Nana Addo favoring Jake initially? Ans: Well, he thinks that he went into an election with him and they believe that the election was rigged and if the election was rigged why do you sacrifice the Chairman? So he felt that he needed to stand by Jake and indeed, he stood by Jake but when so much pressure was brought on him and he decided to go his way at the last minute and that also infuriated the delegates. Q: Would you say that was the cause of Jake’s abysmal performance at the conference? Ooh yeah…on the night before the voting, MPs and all leading members of the party; all of them went against…all the pro-Nana Addo people that night campaigned against Jake for Fred Oware. Q: Who were some of the notable MPs that campaigned against Jake? Ans: Kennedy Agyepong, you know…he was one of such people who led the campaign against Jake. Q: Kennedy Agyepong was supporting Ntim or? Ans: Yes! He also felt Fred Oware was not good so he went in for Ntim, but he campaigned against Jake anyway. Q: Is Jake bitter because of this treatment? Ans: No…Jake is not bitter…absolutely not…no no, no, he is not bitter at all. He thinks that you’re looking for a job, you apply for it and that is the grade they give you, you only move on. Q: Does he feel betrayed? Ans: I don’t think so…but if you ask me personally I think that yes, Nana Addo’s camp has betrayed Jake. Yes it is a betrayal. This leadership gave Nana Addo a lot of room and all of them worked together and it looked like Nana Addo was the captain of the party when he (Jake) was supposed to be the chairman…he gave him that room but they paid him with the wrong coin that is why I’m sad and I’m saying that Nana Addo’s group stabbed Jake at the back. Q: As an aide to Jake what role would you play in the party going forward? Ans: Well I think the buck stops with Nana Addo and he decides the things to do …he still has the support of the rank and file of supporters…this happen but with time you brush it off and you move on. Q: Don’t you think the people around Nana Addo would not allow Jake and people like you around him going forward? Ans: Well is for Nana Addo to decide whether he wants to be president or he wants to listen to those around him…is for Nana Addo to decide, the buck stops with Nana Addo. If they’ve misled him and he still wants them to be around him, it is for him to decide. There is one thing being popular in the party and there is one thing Nana Addo having a team of excellent people and experience people who can allow floating voters to vote for you. So if Nana Addo wants to be president then he must begin to asses all those around who gave those funny-funny results that Jake was not popular and that Fred Oware was popular. Q: Would you say if Nana Addo had supported Jake he could won the election? Ans: Absolutely…all those who went out that night telling people about Fred Oware if they had thrown their weight behind Jake, Jake could have won and their campaign against Jake for Fred Oware that made the delegates angry and they began analyzing the whole situation …if you say Jake is not good then why Fred Oware or Sir John? Q: Would you support Paul Afoko? Ans: oooh why not… the party has decided…I respect the party so I have to work… I have to work with everybody. You must see the bigger picture not yourself. Q: Is Jake quitting politics? Ans: No-he is not, he has decided to write a book and that desire I’m aware he has had long ago…that he will write a book so now that he is not the party’s chairman, he has decided to take a break. That does not mean he is quitting politics. He has made it clear that he will support Afoko all day because the bigger picture is 2016 it is not about him being a chairman.