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Hopeson Adorye, a member of the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP, has suggested that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has by some previous pronouncements blessed Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen as next flagbearer of the NPP.

In a post on his Facebook handle, Adorye shared a November 2016 video clip in which Akufo-Addo – then opposition candidate – is addressing a crowd at Kwesimintim in the Western Region.

In the 57-second video he captioned, ‘The man Akufo-Addo has said it all,’ the president is heard telling the crowd about how he lost party primaries to Kufuor and 1998 yet fully supported the campaign that brought Kufuor to power.

Akufo-Addo cited his own circumstance in 2015 when he defeated Alan before touting Alan as his biggest campaigner in the 2016 polls. He went on to defeat incumbent John Dramani Mahama in 2016.

What Akufo-Addo said:

In 1998 when we went to Sunyani to elect a flagbearer for 2000 election, I contested against Mr. Kufuor, he won it. Yet in the 2000 campaign, if you will remember, I campaigned for Kufuor … that is how it is.

It is the same way when last year (2015) we went for a (flagbearership) contest, you know I contested with Alan Kyerematen, you know that?

Now the one who is campaigning for me more than anyone in this election is Alan Kyerematen.

NPP primaries coming up

Alan Kyerematen is seen as a frontrunner in the race to succeed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

His main contender is believed to be Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia – none of them have formally spoken about their ambitions despite their supporters making a case for either of them in media interviews.

The NPP is expected to elect a new presidential candidate ahead of the 2024 General Elections, this is because the second and final term of Akufo-Addo expires after the vote.