One of the founding fathers of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has expressed deep concern about the future of the party.
He warned that the NPP could face total destruction if it doesn’t handle its internal issues carefully.
In response to the news of Alan Kyerematen’s withdrawal from the NPP’s flagbearer race, Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe noted that such developments signal a weakening of the party’s democratic foundations.
In an interview with the media on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, he emphasized that how the NPP manages the Alan case will determine whether the party avoids returning to a period of political instability, reminiscent of the years 1978 and 1979.
Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe also expressed concern about a concerning trend within the NPP, where some party members are constantly defending positions that are indefensible.
“I would say that Alan leaving the group at this time has weakened the democratic pillars of the party, and if we’re not careful, the party will be totally destroyed and we shall find ourselves in 1978 and 1979.
“Why do I say the party has been destroyed? We have a lot of new faces in the party who daily come on the airwaves to defend the indefensible. It is very disheartening. This party has always got a succession plan and that brings the point to Alan being stabbed in the back.
“And it’s unfortunate that that’s being done by my friend, Nana Akufo-Addo. Now, when we came out of the wilderness, during the era of Jerry John Rawlings, one thing was quite clear, that we had to get somebody who was that popular at that time, so that we can have a strong political force against Rawlings’ party,” he added.
He found it particularly disheartening that these actions are occurring during Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s presidency, as he serves as both the leader of the country and the NPP.
He further explained that the party’s succession plan had always been a key factor, and Alan Kyerematen’s withdrawal from the race, in his view, represented a betrayal within the party.
He mentioned that during the party’s early years, they needed a popular figure to create a strong political force against the ruling party of that time, and this decision to backstab Alan was unfortunate.
Alan Kyerematen withdrew from the flagbearer race on September 5, 2023, citing reasons such as intimidation of delegates during the Super Delegates Conference as contributing to his decision.