In a startling change of events, former trade and industry minister Alan Kyerematen left the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on September 25.
Many were surprised by his resignation because he had finished third in the party's super delegates conference, which was held on August 26 for its presidential candidates.
The former NPP stalwart explained his decision to leave the party in a speech to the country from the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel.
According to Mr. Kyerematen, the NPP has been treating him unfairly for the past 15 years or more.
"In 2007, I entered the NPP presidential primary alongside a prestigious group of seventeen (17) other candidates. Due to charges that I had influenced the outcome of the election, the voting process in that election was halted on election day under very peculiar circumstances. This tactic was intended to bring me into disfavor in an effort to lessen my appeal and the strong backing I had from the Party's grassroots workers.
Despite the tragic plan against him, he claimed to have backed Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the time in order to avoid a run-off.
Cruelty and hostility
Despite all of the sacrifices he had made for the party, Mr. Kyerematen expressed concern about some hatred and brutality directed at him and his supporters.
He said that after the primary, several severe attacks were launched against him and his supporters. Despite his concerns to the party's leadership, who assured him that they would be addressed, little to nothing was done to stop these attacks, he claimed.
Despite the effort I made to bring the Party together, as previously mentioned, there were very serious post-primary attacks on my followers across the nation and an outward display of hatred. Some of my fans have scars from being subjected to brutality, and they still do. I repeatedly voiced my concerns to the Party's leadership at the time, alerting them to the venomous and polarizing actions of some Party members.
"Unfortunately, though, none of the pledges made by the Party leadership were ever kept, and the vicious and divisive attacks on my person and my supporters persisted for many years afterward and continue to this day."
The National Council of the NPP's contempt for the law
After the party's super delegates conference in August 2023, Mr. Kyerematen voiced his displeasure with how the National Council of the NPP handled the concerns he highlighted.
He said that the conference of super delegates was purposefully and tactically biased in favor of one particular candidate. He had anticipated that the Council would address this unfairness, but they chose to sit back and observe instead.
"The National Council of the Party made some of the most divisive and difficult decisions in the Party's history in the lead-up to the Super Delegates Conference. They rejected a petition that was signed by nine of the ten candidates, asking that the Super Delegates Conference be held in a single place and that each delegate be permitted to propose five people rather than one, in accordance with the Party's Constitution.
"To make matters worse, it was obvious that the Super Delegates Conference was intentionally and tactically slanted in favor of one specific candidate, as I stated in my press statement from September 6 of this year. In our Party's history of internal elections, the Conference's level of intimidation and money-making was unprecedented.
NPP being taken over by some people
Mr. Kyerematen regretted that he was no longer able to be a part of the New Patriotic Party since it had undergone an unwholesome transformation in recent years and had been taken over by a few chosen party officials.
"I have spent the most of my professional life working for the Party, and I continue to support its original mission. The Party I joined in 1992 and worked to grow bears very little relation to the NPP as it is today. A small handful of Party elders, leaders, "behind the curtain power brokers," and dishonest Party apparatchiks have taken control of the Party.
The growing unemployment rate in
Ghana
He also expressed concern about the troubling rates of youth unemployment. He claimed that his resignation and choice to run as an independent in the 2024 elections were motivated by his desire to do his part to lessen and eventually end such a regrettable threat.
It is also important to note that, excluding graduates from secondary schools, over 300,000 graduates from tertiary institutions in Ghana join the job market each year with little to no chance of success. With a public service that is currently excessively large, employment in the public sector is obviously not an option. The latest "Occupy Julorbi House" protests show how this prevalent job shortage is progressively turning into a national security threat. The Police's initial response of physically assaulting certain protesters is not the answer to the issue. What Ghana needs right now is CHANGE, which will offer long-lasting answers to the problems our nation is currently facing.