Superior Cuffs Kufuor Over Alan

As the President, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor and his men are desperately doing everything within their power to allegedly impose Alan John Kyerematen on the New Patriotic Party (NPP), a UK-based leading member of the party, Mr. Iddrisu Musah Superior has called on the six top presidential aspirants to team up and choose one from among themselves, to keenly contest the race with Mr. Kyerematen, who he describes as "the Kufuor-sponsored candidate". The six aspirants are, the Vice President Aliu Mahama, Nana Addo-Danquah Akufo Addo, Yaw Osafo Maafo, Dan Botwe, Hackman Owusu-Agyeman and Jake Obetsebi Lamptey.

He explained that such a move would not only be seen as a unifying factor, but would also shatter the desperate moves by the president to impose his favourite on the party.

In a telephone interview with The Chronicle from the United Kingdom, Mr. Superior, who contested for the position of National Organizer in the 2005 NPP national delegates' congress, also maintained that he did not believe in the open declaration by the President that he did not support any of the candidates.

Mr. Superior said he (the President) had failed as a father of the party, to show maturity and responsibility by supporting Alan without due recognition to the democratic principles of the NPP.

"Secret meetings attended by the President to help push the bid of his darling boy have always leaked to the press. He is reported to have appealed to party executives during one of such meetings not to disgrace him. Also the way the President is conducting himself is completely unacceptable," Mr. Superior asserted.

He challenged the President to stop playing the ostrich game and come out clean, since he had already declared on a BBC programme that he really had a choice. "What a dramatic confession it was".

Urging the party to ignore and treat with contempt any directive from the President or his agents, the NPP leading activist warned that if the president was not stopped, the whole process would be bought and influenced, which he said would be very disastrous for the party in the next presidential election.

He, therefore, challenged delegates attending the December 22 congress of the party to ensure that the reputation and credibility of the NPP was kept unbroken, during and after the congress.

The delegates, he intimated, must show their power and sense of belonging and responsibility to elect the right candidate for the party to defeat Prof Evans Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Mr. Superior appealed also to some of the aspirants to review and reassess their chances and come together and support one person to contest with, what he described as the "castle-sponsored candidate".

He recalled how some courageous members of the party vehemently protested and totally rejected the suggestion to make the President the leader of the party in 2000 and 2004, which he indicated signified the spirit of democracy in the NPP.

Musah Superior alleged that the recent dismissals of some Municipal and District Chief executives by the President, was to put the fear into other government officials who had refused to support and sponsor Alan's campaign.

He asserted with special concern, that three dismissed DCEs from the Northern and Upper East regions, in the persons of Abdul-Rahman Gumah formerly of Bawku Municipality, Salamatu Fogor of Bole and Elizabeth Pijit Poyare of Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo were known as sympathisers of Nana Addo, Osafo Maafo and the Vice President respectively.

Mr. Superior said the Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mohammed Amin Anta was leading several DCEs from the Northern, Upper East, Upper West regions and some districts in the Brong Ahafo Region in a vigorous campaign to get delegates to vote for Alan.

State resources are being used in these circumstances and nothing is being said about that.

He said the use of the official residences of DCEs and MCEs as venues for Alan Kyerematen's campaign was illegal and should be challenged by all Ghanaians, irrespective of their party affiliations.

Mr. Superior, who is a native of Tamale, called on the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly to pass a vote of no confidence in Mr. Amin Anta, who he described as visionless and incompetent.

He warned that any government official, who interfered in the electioneering process inappropriately, should be shown the people's power and disgracefully rejected.