Some members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Brong Ahafo Region calling themselves ‘Operation 2016 for Alan’ have started a campaign asking members of the party to select Alan Kyerematen as presidential candidate for 2016.

According to them, their research in the region had shown that the 2012 presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo was popular within the NPP, but the masses and floating voters did not like him to be president of Ghana.

They believed Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen was very popular with floating voters and that he would win them over if given the NPP mantle for the 2016 general elections.

The group, led by the former chairman of Sunyani East Constituency, Francis Kwaku Barnie, mentioned this at a press conference in Sunyani.

The group, which believed there were no cracks in the NPP, said Nana Addo had done his best and called on members to rally behind Alan Kyerematen to win power for the party.

They also said they believed that Mr Kyerematen’s charismatic leadership style would win the hearts of Ghanaian voters in the 2016 general elections. “Put Alan Kyeremanten at the centre stage of NPP 2016 and the power that we are crying for would be ours,” the statement said. According to them, Alan’s style of campaign for the 2010 presidential primaries attested to the fact that if he is given the nod, he would reach the rural population across the country and win power for NPP in 2016.

The secretary of the group, Ebenezer Anane, who read the statement, also stated that the refusal of some younger generation to take centre stage in activities of the party was likely to create problems for the NPP.

The group said the NPP needed unity and togetherness to wrest power from the John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The group, which claimed to have members across the 16 constituencies of the region, has Francis Kwaku Barnie as its chairman, Ebenezer Anane as secretary, Stephen Takyi from Tano North, Sarkodie Addo Richard, Asunafo North, Baffour Adu-Bimpah, Atebubu/Amanten, Nana Gyimah, Berekum East, Alhaji Wahab, Wenchi as some of its members.