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Form your own party and become a force to reckon with – Prof Gyampo advises Alan
UTAG-UG President, Professor Ransford Gyampo, has advised the former Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen to form his own party after withdrawing from the New Patriotic Party’s presidential candidate race.
According to the UTAG-UG President, Mr Kyerematen enjoys some goodwill from Ghanaian and thus can become a force to reckon with in the next general elections.
The political scientist said Mr Kyerematen, after the party’s formation, can let someone else become its flagbearer if he wants to.
Contributing to a panel discussion on Citi TV on Wednesday, September 6, Prof Gyampo insisted that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) must also address the concerns raised by Mr Kyerematen.
“Where he goes from here depends on him, I think he can choose from four scenarios. If you look at his statement, he creates an impression that he’s focused on the bigger picture. He thinks that he has an appeal to the people of Ghana, so if he’s not going to get the vehicle of NPP through which he could appeal to Ghanaians, then, he may want to go and appeal to Ghanaians in whatever capacity.
“He can decide to remain in the party, he has not announced that he has broken away from the party. He can also decide to team up with other aspirants to present a certain formidable candidate, either led by himself or by other people. Or he can decide to go as an independent candidate, or he can decide to form his own political party and see if he can be a force to reckon with. If he also decides to form his own party, then he will still be a force to reckon with,” he suggested.
Alan Kyerematen on Tuesday, September 5, announced his withdrawal from the NPP’s flagbearer race citing several reasons.
He mentioned intimidation, and violence against a member of his campaign team and claimed that the party strategically organised the super delegates conference to favour one candidate over the others as some of the reasons for his decision.
Mr Kyerematen stated that pronouncements made by some leading members of the party before and after the elections lend weight to his observations.
“After having carefully analysed the results of the said elections, it is absolutely clear to me from events leading to, during and after the elections, that the Special Delegates Conference was strategically and tactically skewed in favour of one particular aspirant.”
“The level of intimidation of varying intensity, directly and indirectly, unleashed on a significant number of Delegates at various Voting Centers across the sixteen regions, is unprecedented in the history of our Party,” parts of the statement read.
However, following this, Prof Gyampo predicted that more candidates would soon withdraw from the presidential primaries.
According to the political scientist, the processes for the exercise have not been managed well in the interest of the party.
“I warned that if things aren’t done fairly, there could be a breakup. I also warned about the public comments of those expected to be seen as neutral arbiters. There will be more pull-outs. This isn’t the NPP BJ da Rocha and others led.”
Source: Myjoyonline.com
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
