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Super Delegates Conference: Our goal was to have Alan Kyerematen in top 5, we succeeded – Buaben Asamoa
Presidential candidate Alan Kyerematen may have landed the third spot in the New Patriotic Party’s super delegate polls but his team remains unbothered by that result.
According to the spokesperson for the Alan Kyerematen campaign, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, their aim going into the Saturday conference was not to wrestle for first place but to secure a spot for the party’s primaries in November.
He explained, on JoyNews’ PM Express, that the super delegates conference was only meant for the “elite group” in the party to prune down the number of presidential aspirants.
This set of people, although part of the NPP, Mr Asamoa believes do not represent the over 200,000 delegates expected to partake in the flagbearer election in November.
“Yes, they (super delegates) are leaders of the party, but of course, they don’t represent the political opinion in the party…0.004% of 200,000…961 persons representing 200,000 grassroots delegates? We don’t believe that they are representative of the mood and opinion down there.”
“He was supposed to be part of the five and that’s it. We’ve achieved that…We didn’t go in looking for a placement. We didn’t care as long as we were in the five,” Mr Asamoa said.
On Saturday, August 28, six NPP presidential aspirants successfully sailed through the party’s Super Delegates Conference.
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia led with 68.15% (629) of the total votes cast, followed by Kennedy Agyapong who polled 15.03% (132) of the total votes cast.
Alan Kyerematen came in third with 10.29% (95) of the total votes cast, and Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto came fourth with 3.90% (36).
Although the Super Delegates Conference was expected to help select five candidates, two candidates, Francis Addai Nimo and Boakye Kyeremateng Ayarko, tied for fifth place with nine votes each.
Meanwhile, the Alan Kyerematen campaign spokesperson remains confident that the result in November will be completely different dismissing claims that the party’s history proves otherwise.
“History is not repetitive. So, the history of Nana Addo and Alan Kyerematen is a contest of two very strong personalities fighting for the favour of this party and this party determining that Mr Kyerematen must wait his turn for Nana Addo to have a crack at the presidency.”
As a result, the party rallied behind now President Akufo-Addo garnering more support from him in the lead to the flagbearer selection, Mr Asamoa said, adding pressure was placed on Mr Kyerematen to not run at all.
“So that line is not because he, Kyerematen, declined in popularity, it was because the party was determined to consolidate support behind Nana Addo unequivocally so that the party could take Nanadu into the presidency, which we succeeded in doing,” he noted.
Mr Asamoa noted that the Alan Kyermaten camp is happy to continue their work and campaign in the lead-up to the national conference adding the super delegates conference “was a useful exercise for us.”
Source: Myjoyonline.com
Ghana’s First Lady, Lordina Mahama, has made a generous donation to the country’s national female Under-17 and Under-20 teams – Black Maidens and Black Princesses- as they continue preparations for major international assignments.
The donation, made on Friday, May 22, was presented on behalf of the First Lady by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, at the GFA Technical Centre in Prampram.
The gesture forms part of efforts to motivate and support Ghana’s young female footballers as they prepare to represent the country on the international stage.
The donation included essential food items and toiletries aimed at supporting the welfare and well-being of the players and technical teams.
The donation included cartons of Milo, T-rolls, soft drinks, toiletries, and a range of essential supplies aimed at supporting the welfare of the players, enhancing camp conditions, and easing preparations ahead of their respective assignments.
The Black Maidens are currently engaged in preparations for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers and are set to take on Liberia women’s national under-17 football team in the second-leg encounter in Liberia this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Black Princesses have already secured qualification to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after overcoming Uganda in the qualifiers, extending Ghana’s remarkable record to eight consecutive appearances at the tournament.
The donation by the First Lady was expected to boost morale within both camps while reinforcing national support for the young female footballers who continue to make the country proud.
The prosecution has officially rested its case in The Republic v Solomon Asamoah & Another, the high-profile legal battle commonly referred to as the “Sky Train” case.
The Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai announced the development, praising the state’s team of hard-working prosecutors for successfully anchoring the state’s evidence before the High Court.
The criminal trial centers on the former Chief Executive Officer and the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
The duo stands accused of illegally authorizing and paying out US$2 million to a foreign company without obtaining board directives or other mandatory statutory approvals.
State investigators have confirmed that the disbursed millions cannot be found.
Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, the accused persons moved the court for an opportunity to file a submission of no case.
The presiding judge granted the application, ordering the defense to submit their arguments by June 8.
The outcome of the June 8 filings will decide the fate of the trial:
With this, if the judge finds the defense’s submission convincing, the accused will be acquitted and discharged however, If the judge dismisses the submission, the court will order the accused officials to take the stand and explain why they should not face prison sentences.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
