Throwback: What B.J. da Rocha said about Alan Kyerematen being an NPP ‘disruptive factor’ in 2008

In April 2008, when Alan Kyerematen resigned from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and there were attempts to persuade him back into the fold of the NPP, a former Chairman and elder of the NPP, Mr. B. J. da Rocha made a prediction.

Mr. B. J. da Rocha said it would not be in the best interest of the NPP to receive Mr. Alan Kyerematen back into the NPP.

His reason was that, he could become a “disruptive factor in the party, a stumbling block and loose cannon”.

“The party has an election to win. We should concentrate our efforts on the task ahead and let him go his way in peace,” Mr da Rocha said in a report filed by the Ghana News Agency in 2008.

It is now official, following the personal confirmation by Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen that he was going to contest the 2024 presidential election as an independent candidate.

Alan officially submitted his resignation letter indicating he was no longer interested in being a member of the NPP on Monday [September 25, 2023].

Immediately after that, he addressed a press conference and announced his decision to contest 2024 as an independent candidate.

He is now forming a movement, called “Movement for Change” with a Monarch Butterfly as the symbol.

This is a big blow to the governing New Patriotic Party as the move would greatly affect the unity of the party going into Election 2024.

The NPP has been at the helm of affairs in governance since January 7, 2017, and hoping to break the eight-year cycle of change of government which usually alternates between the NPP and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The speculations about Alan Kyerematen’s resignation and independent presidential ambition intensified over the weekend and got NPP members jittery after a poster announcing his planned press conference at the Movenpick Hotel on Monday afternoon was released by his aides and supporters.

In fact, the speculations had actually started earlier, before September 5, 2023, the day he announced his withdrawal from the current NPP presidential race.

Alan was shortlisted as part of the top five candidates who were going into the final selection on November 4, 2023, but some people believed that he would have lost the November 4 election, considering the popularity gained by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and Kennedy Ohene Agyapong as the leading candidates in the Special Super Delegates conference. 

Alan placed third in the August 2023 Special Delegates conference having garnered less than 100 votes out of the over 900 votes.

Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, considered by some as a “non-presidential” material who entered the NPP presidential race just recently beat Alan, who had been in the race for more than 16 years.

Alan’s name first came up in 2005 as the replacement for the then President John Agyekum Kufuor who was retiring on January 6, 2009, as the leader of the NPP.

In 2007, Alan contested with 16 other candidates and came second, as Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo [now President of Ghana] beat him and became the leading candidate. Akufo-Addo has led the party since 2007 as the first presidential choice and has subsequently beaten Alan Kyerematen in other NPP presidential primaries.

President Akufo-Addo is retiring on January 6, 2025, hence the NPP is looking for a replacement.

President Akufo-Addo’s vice, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has shot up as the next preferable choice, with many party members throwing their support behind him. He garnered a convincing endorsement of over 50 percent votes at the special delegates conference held in August 2023.

The larger Electoral College of the NPP will on November 4, 2023, select the next leader.

However, Alan Kyerematen expressed his unhappiness with the process that led to Dr. Bawumia’s convincing victory in the Super Delegates Conference.

Some of Alan’s aides alleged that, the presidency was supporting Dr. Bawumia behind the scenes and also influencing delegates clandestinely.

To Alan, his spokespersons and supporters, it was Alan’s time to lead the NPP, having waited for over 16 years for his turn and that it is not time yet for Dr. Bawumia whom they claim only joined the race recently. They wanted Alan to lead after which Dr. Bawumia could have also taken the baton. 

Supporters of Bawumia however think otherwise, and argue that since it was a contest, they should allow the delegates to decide who leads the party.

Second time Alan is quitting NPP

Feeling bitter about the loss in the 2007 presidential primary and what he described subsequently as being sidelined, Alan, in 2008 resigned from the NPP in a similar move but was politically coerced and later rejoined the party.  

But while those discussions were underway to bring Alan back to the NPP, former Chairman and elder of the NPP, Mr. B. J. da Rocha [deceased] sounded this caution.

We reproduce that report by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) below 

Accra, April 25, 2008 GNA report –

Mr. B. J. da Rocha, former Chairman and elder of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Friday [April 25, 2008] stated that it would not be in the best interest of the NPP to receive Mr. Alan Kyeremanten, former NPP Presidential aspirant, back into the party.

He said Mr. Kyerematen could become a disruptive factor in the party, a stumbling block and loose cannon.

He said, “The party has an election to win. We should concentrate our efforts on the task ahead and let him go his way in peace.”

Mr. da Rocha was responding to a statement from Mr. Alan Kyerematen of April 24, 2008 that he would not rescind his decision to resign and maintained that his decision to quit the party still held.

Mr. da Rocha said he was not convinced that the matters that complained about were as grave and earth-shaking as to make a loyal member of the party quit summarily and unceremoniously. He said the complaints were like flea bites compared with what many loyal members of the party have suffered and endured in the past without even contemplating leaving the party.

Mr. da Rocha said Mr. Kyerematen’s statements to the NPP chairman resigning his membership came to him as a surprise. He said he was approached through the General Secretary of the party, Nana Ohene Ntow to act as mediator and see whether he could persuade Mr Kyerematen to change his mind. He said he had two meetings with him, both of which the General Secretary was present but National Chairman was out of the country, which Mr Kyerematen was aware of.

He said he told Mr. Kyerematen that he should not have written the resignation letter while he (Allan) stated that there were certain fundamental issues which had propelled him to resign and unless those issues were addressed he would still stand by his decision to quit. Mr. da Rocha indicated that in the middle of an election campaign, the party could not find time literally to arbitrate what he saw as a dispute between Mr. Kyerematen and the party.

“I suggested to him that many within the party would interpret his action as lack of loyalty and commitment to the party. His response was that, if anybody thought so, so be it”, he added. Mr. da Rocha also said their second meeting on Tuesday, April 23, 2008 ended with a proposal by he, (da Rocha) that he would report the outcome to the National Executive for that body to take decision whether it would satisfy his conditions for returning to the party or whether it would simply accept his resignation.

He said it was understood that no public statement should emanate from either of them until he had made his report to the National Executive.

He said it would be a very bad and dangerous precedent for the NPP to allow any member to dictate to the party, the terms on which he would continue to be a member.

“I think Mr. Kyerematen is bluffing the party. The party should not tolerate such bluff.”

Mr. da Rocha stated that the concluding part of Mr Kyerematen’s statement was pregnant with meaning and quoted what he said as; “We must also not lose sight of the fact that national interest is superior to the interest of any single party. In this regard, I will soon give a firm indication about the role that I expect to play on the political landscape in the country. This, I believe, will bring hope and confidence to all Ghanaians irrespective of the political or religious affiliation or ethnic background”

Referring what Mr Kyerematen said in the above paragraph, Mr da Rocha said the clear import of that passage was that Mr Kyerematen has in mind, a national interest superior to the interest of the NPP. He said it was unequivocal declaration that he has thought for himself a future role in politics outside the NPP. It is obvious that he has no deep-rooted commitment or loyalty to the NPP.

Meanwhile, Mr Alan Kyerematen slammed rumours of his imminent return to the party after his shocking resignation last week.

A statement signed by him on April 24, 2008 said no one should consider him as vacillating on his decision and “thereby displaying inconsistency in thought and judgment” because the issues he raised have not been addressed while talks aimed at having him rescind his decision have been inconclusive.

“I wish to state categorically that I have not rescinded my decision to resign from the party”, the statement said, in part. Mr. Kyerematen said it appeared that there is a calculated attempt engineered from certain quarters to create public disaffection for him, and stated that while it was true that no single individual is more important than

“I wish to state categorically that I have not rescinded my decision to resign from the party”, the statement said, in part. Mr. Kyerematen said it appeared that there is a calculated attempt engineered from certain quarters to create public disaffection for him, and stated that while it was true that no single individual is more important than the party to which he had belonged to, it was equally true that national interest was superior to the interest of any single party.

Source: GNA