Chairman of the NPP Council of Elders, Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, has accused Alan Kyerematen’s followers of damaging the party both electorally and reputationally in the 2024 elections.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on September 17, he said Alan’s resignation and the conduct of his loyalists left a deep scar on the NPP’s performance and image.
“Well, even one vote is important, and he took a few thousand votes. Not only that, especially from the Ashanti, but they had these boys go on television and say all manner of things and insult and what have you, and people always saying ‘oh, they were with them once upon a time, so what they are saying is true, and it wasn’t helpful to us,” he stated.
Mr Owusu-Agyeman said such actions weakened the party ahead of the polls.
“So if you want to come, you join a party, you have to behave yourself. And I don’t think that in future, we shall, well, I will not cast my vote for such a situation at all. In future, if you create problems for us, you go, I mean, we can go on, life goes on,” he said.
The veteran politician described the repeated resignation-and-return cycle as disruptive.
There are a few of them, without mentioning names, who resigned, then came back, then resigned, then came back. It’s not a child’s game, so what the general secretary is saying makes a bit of sense.
“He’s saying that if you come, then some undertakings might be taken. You don’t come and disturb us. If you’ve gone, then if you want to stay where you are, stay, but if you come back, then we should have preconditions for you to do that thing.
“So I believe that, but I think that in the past, we have been too liberal, lenient with people who have done that and eventually disturbed our forward march to better organisation and things like that,” he said.
He stressed that the party had been too lenient with such behaviour in the past.
When asked about Alan Kyerematen’s possible return, Hackman said the decision would lie with the party, not him, but recalled that in the past, some leaders had been blunt.
“I remember that Da Rocha, whom we all revere, when Alan resigned the first time, he said good riddance, and he was the party chairman at that time,” he said.
Hackman insisted that those who damage the party and leave should stay away, while ordinary followers may be allowed to return.