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Alan Kyerematen’s withdrawal not a call for disunity- Team Bawumia
The campaign team for Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, flagbearer hopeful of New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said the withdrawal of the former Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Kyerematen, from the NPP presidential race, does not call for disunity within the party.
The team appealed to all supporters of Mr Kyerematen to throw their weight behind the Vice President in breaking the 8, despite the former minister’s decision to quit the party’s presidential race.
A statement released yesterday by a leading member of the Vice President’s campaign team, Mr Sammy Awuku, said “this is the time to reach out to each and every one to make the 2024 campaign and election victory possible to the NPP.
The team said though challenges been faced by the NPP and country appeared to be fearsome, there would be victory at the end.
The statement gave the assurance that Dr Bawumia and his team will carry along NPP supporters and sympathizers outside the party, to once again deliver victory in the forthcoming polls.
The statement said that although the journey to victory would not be easy, with all supporters coming on board to play their roles effectively, Dr Bawumia could surely lead the party in breaking the 8.
“To all the supporters of the candidates who couldn’t make it to the top 5 and supporters of aspirants who made it to the top 5, please let’s come together.
Let’s solve our problems together and once again position the NPP still as the party of choice ahead of the 2024 General Elections to deliver economic prosperity for our nation, Ghana,” the statement said.
The Alan Kyeremanten campaign team on Tuesday announced the shocking withdrawal of their candidate from the NPP presidential primaries schedule for November 4, 2023, after the just ended Super Delegate Conference to select the best first five out of the 10 aspirants.
Although Alan was able to take a slot in the first five, he stated that his withdrawal from the presidential race was due to 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.
He however stated that, in the next coming weeks, he would provide an indication on the role to play in politics.
Mr Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko who was a contestant of the Presidential race of the party, some few days ago also withdrew from the upcoming run-off election to determine the 5th position.
His decision came after the NPP announced that its National Council will constitute an electoral college to break the tie between him and his competitor Francis Addai Nimoh, who were both 5th in the just ended super delegate conference.
But in a press release, Mr Agyarko described it as unconstitutional for the National Council to shortlist a few individuals to represent the 955 individuals who participated in the first round.
He was of the view that, the establishment of an electoral college flout the party’s constitution.
BY BERNARD BENGHAN
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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
