"Alan Chickens-Out of NPP Delegates' Conference as Ashanti MPs Support Bawumia" and "Run-up to NPP 2024 Presidential Primary - Alan Losing Grounds in Ashanti" are among the leading propaganda headlines that accompanied the disgraceful Bawumia hyping New Patriotic Party National Delegates' Conference held in Kumasi on Sunday.
The choice of venue and the entire event was deliberately organized and stage-managed to send the message that even Alan Kyeremanten's own people and region prefer the Vice President, Dr Muhammadu Bawumia to him. That is all that the event was about.
In the first place, nominations have not been opened for the presidential primary, hence, there are no contestants so what did or has Alan "chicken/ed out" from? From the National Delegates Conference? Is the Delegates Conference a presidential elections event or a campaign programme for aspirants?
The accompanying propaganda efforts by organisers and political beneficiaries of the event revealed more the intent that birthed the programme.
Organisers of the conference expected Alan Kyeremanten to be present to humiliatingly watch the political drama they deliberately staged to tell how popular the Vice President is in the party but he did not attend.
Yet, their self-betraying communications during and after the event reveal the actual reason they organized the conference. No policy propositions and constitutional amendment proposals were discussed and adopted.
What they did not know is that, coincidentally, the Trade Minister was under the weather thus he could, unfortunately, not participate in the conference.
Political observers and analysts could see through the entire drama from how the hands of Alan Kyeremanten's supporters were tied with the party directives while Bawumia's campaign team including some party executives mobilised people for the hyping and articifial popularity project.
Everything had to be done including the bending of protocols for even the President to come sit in before the Vice President arrived. That has never happened in the history of the party.
Against the party's directive barring supporters of prospective candidates from mounting their campaigns billboards, posters, etc., in Kumasi ahead of the conference, the Vice President's giant hoarding was erected a night before the conference at Suame roundabout.
As much as it is politically unwise for the President to openly show his support for the man who has squandered his entire reputation to make him a President, he should not pretend he is seeking an even playing field while working through some of his appointees and party functionaries against Alan Kyeremanten.
At the end of it all, what the people of desire is a competent, truthful, trustworthy personality who would be a reliable leader when voted for. Hence, the NPP's 2024 elections project should not be about proving to Ghanaians that NPP is not an Akanfuor party. It is about presenting a fresh and trustworthy face of the NPP to help the party break the 8.
If the President, elders and executives of the party admit that the party needs to be more united now than ever before, then, this mischievous efforts of tying the hands of some prospective presidential aspirants' supporters while deliberately creating platforms for others to showcase artificial support for bandwagon effect as was done for Bawumia in Kumasi must stop.
The NPP is walking on a very sensitive stretch that could make it break the 8 in disunity in opposition if things like what happened in Kumasi continue.
At the end of the conference, it became very clear that it was not because of constitutional amendments or anything tangible to the party's progress that the event was organised. It was orgnised only to hype Bawumia at the expense of the electoral fortunes of other prospectives aspirants. The good thing is that many Ghanaians could see through that very transparent effort of the party Executives. That is how they failed.
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