Hopeson Adorye
The Director of Operations of the Alan Kyerematen campaign team, Hopeson Adorye, has stoked fire in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) after suggesting that in the tradition of the party, people of the Northern extraction as represented by the late SD Dombo, play second fiddle.
The ethnocentric remark has prompted assortment of reactions from both Northern members of the party and their southern counterparts who disagreed with him.
Coming under intense heat with harsh reactions, he has taken cover saying that was not what he meant.
The remark has trended on social media with many calling him to apologise and others saying he has damaged the campaign of his boss.
In the history of the Danquah/Busia/Dombo political tradition, it is the Danquah and Busia segment which has always produced presidents and the latter vice presidents or running mates, a trend which he said must be maintained in the 2024 polls.
“We have the Danquah, Busia and Dombo tradition in the NPP, and from 1992 either a Danquah or Busia person always led the party as flagbearer, whilst a Dombo person is always picked as running mate,” he boldly declared.
Hopeson Adorye was addressing NPP members at the tail end of the ‘Aduru Wo So Health Walk’ for Alan Kyeremanten, which was held in Kumasi.
Narrating the history of the NPP, regarding their presidential candidates, he said “in 1992 the late Prof. Adu Boahen, who is from the Danquah section, was elected as flagbearer and he picked a Dombo person to serve as his running mate.
“In 1996, you all know that we went into Great Alliance but in 2000, Kufuor who is from the Busia section, was the presidential candidate and he also settled on a Dombo person to serve as his running mate just in line with the party’s tradition.
“And after Kufuor had exited the political scene, Nana Akufo-Addo, who is also from the Danquah side of our tradition, was elected to lead the party and he also picked a Dombo person, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as his running mate”.
He said, “If you look at the NPP’s history, regarding the selection of a flagbearer, from Danquah (Adu Boahen), it went to Busia (Kufuor) and from Busia it went to Danquah (Akufo-Addo), so it is now the turn of Busia (Alan Kyeremanten). This is simple Mathematics.”
According to him, it is the turn of Alan Kyeremanten, the Minister of Trade and Industry, who is a native of the Ashanti Region, to lead the NPP as flagbearer, so the party delegates should vote massively for him when NPP goes to Congress.
“Ashantis it is your turn now, your own Alan Kyeremanten is the next to lead our party as flagbearer so vote for him. Afterwards, during the 2024 elections, we are expecting over 2 million votes for Ashanti to retain political power in 2024.
“During the 2020 elections, Ashanti votes alone for the NPP was enough for the party to cancel the votes of the opposition NDC in nine regions, so we are expecting you to do it again, even bigger in 2024, with Alan as flagbearer,” he said.
OB Amoah Reacts
Mr. OB Amoah, in his reaction, asked that party members should “be emotionally intelligent in handling this matter. It is never our tradition that our Presidential Candidate should come from the southern part of Ghana.”
It is also illogical and false that our Vice Presidential Candidate must come from the northern part of the country, he said in reaction to the Hopeson Adorye remarks, adding that it is untrue that aspiring presidential candidates must be ethnically and geographically linked to Dr. JB Danquah, Prof. Busia or Naa SD Dombo.
The falsehood, he said, “which seeks to alienate the core of our values and support must be exposed.”
Those who seek to propagate and perpetuate this falsehood that it’s the turn of any person from the “Busia stock” and that the “Dombo stock” is not expected to lead this resilient and diversified party don’t know our history and tradition, he added.
Continuing, he said “any aspirant and his followers who will propagate this message or seek to endorse such sentiments or anything close or related to such sentiments will be sending a message of their inability to lead this party or country.”
It is proper, he went on “that those who seek our mandate at the party and national levels caution, counsel, restrain and sanction persons who purport to speak in their name or cause others to speak for them.”
Well-meaning party members, he urged, must distance themselves from such false, inflammatory and divisive statements and politics, irrespective of the situation and personalities associated with such sentiments.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr.,Kumasi