The Campaign Team of Alan Kyerematen, the immediate past Minister for Trade and Industry is not happy with the way majority of the New Patriotic Party Members of Parliament are lining up supporting the presidential bid of the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
The Campaign spokesperson for Alan Kyerematen, Yaw Buaben Asamoah who expressed concern over the incident noted that the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh has moblised over 100 MPs who will join the Vice President on a planned visit to the Manhyia Palace coming Sunday.
Speaking on Accra based Okay Fm, he claimed the MPs are being forced to join the Vice President at anywhere he goes adding that “Now as we speak, MPs are being called and threatened into joining a certain delegation for the upcoming Akwasidae just to prove that they have the numbers and Annoh-Dompreh is into it”.
The former Adentan MP lamented that “How are MPs who are supposed to be thinking and strategizing about protecting their seats being forced into joining a presidential campaign and are being threatened? Akwasidae is coming and we will all witness it. They are saying 100 MPs will follow the Vice President”.
He also alleged that the Majority Chief Whip who has openly declared his support for the vice president is actively involved in the recruitment of MPs for the campaign of Dr Bawumia.
“Ask Annoh Dompreh about who has been writing the names of MPs who will follow the vice president to Kumasi. They want to prove that he is loved by the MPs and that he is the right candidate. Those MPs are tired, they have seats to protect. Those seats are in the interest of all of us. We will all suffer if we lose any of the 137 seats, we want more in addition,” he said.
The former Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen and the Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia are deemed the frontrunners in the NPP’s upcoming flagbearership contest with other candidates such as Kennedy Agyapong, Kwabena Agyepong, Francis Addai-Nimoh and Joe Gyartey.
The party is yet to fix a date for the contest which is expected to be a tight race.
BY Daniel Bampoe