By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.
Garden City, New York
April 28, 2015
E-mail: okoampaahoofe@optimum.net

It may well be his way of making his presence and influence felt, in the wake of his massive primary-election defeat last October. And so it goes without saying that Mr. Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen has an inalienable right to back whomever he wants in the lead-up to Election 2016 (See "Alan Creates Confusion In Manhyia North" Peacefmonline.com / Ghanaweb.com 4/28/15). The news, of course, is that the twice-defeated runner-up to the presidential candidacy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has decided to throw his weight - or whatever may be left of the same - behind the incumbent Member of Parliament for Manhyia-North, Mr. Collins Owusu-Amankwah, against the wishes of constituency executives who would rather have all party heavyweights remain neutral. Mr. Owusu-Amankwah, we understand, is facing stiff competition from Nana Osei-Bamfo.

The former Trade, Industry and Presidential Special Initiatives Minister is also reported to have met and conferred with 9 of the 11 NPP Electoral Area Coordinators for Manhyia-North, in a fervid bid to prevailing on these local key operatives to help retain the incumbent. And, well, this is clearly where the problem appears to be coming from. If, indeed, it is true that Mr. Kyerematen arranged a rendezvous with the 9 Electoral Area Coordinators at the Jofel Catering Service Center, to specifically and directly solicit their assistance in their aforesaid capacities, then, of course, he could be aptly accused of influence peddling; and it does not augur well for the interests of Manhyia-North voters. For that matter, the truth or otherwise of this allegation needs to be promptly investigated by the NPP Regional Executive Committee and effectively dealt in the form of the necessary and most appropriate sanctions being imposed.

One form of sanction could mean having specially designated officials monitor and surveil the activities of the concerned Electoral Area Coordinators from now until election time. In the end, though, it is the performance record of Mr. Owusu-Amankwah that ought to commend the incumbent to the voters of Manhyia-North Constituency. The main and real task for Nana Osei-Bamfo, the challenger, is to eloquently and convincingly demonstrate why his opponent should be retired from Parliament. If Nana Osei-Bamfo can prove that the longer Mr. Owusu-Amankwah is allowed to retain his seat by the voters, the worse off they are apt to become, then, of course, the challenger may well have a shot at successfully wresting the Manhyia-North parliamentary seat from the man currently occupying the same. And if, as has been widely reported by the media, local NPP executives like Messrs. Barfuor and Castro, Vice-Chairman and Organizer, respectively, feel strongly that Mr. Kyerematen is meddling or flagrantly attempting to stack the proverbial deck against Nana Osei-Bamfo, they can, of course, counter it by ensuring that the challenger is able to raise adequate campaign resources to level up the playing field.

Calling for regional and national executives to intervene or sanction Mr. Kyerematen may be taken the wrong way. It may seem as if the former Ghana Ambassador to the United States was being targeted for some kind of vendetta or gratuitous personal attack. You see, when I first came across the news headline, I thought that, finally, the man popularly called Alan Cash had come around to seeing the proverbial light by deciding to systematically spruce up his rather flimsy electoral credentials with a long overdue parliamentary run and, in effect, heeding former President John Agyekum-Kufuor's admonishment for all ambitious party members and operatives to "join the line" from the back up. Once again, I have been proven right.

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