Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has firmly denied long-standing allegations that he favoured Alan Kyerematen over Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) fierce 2008 presidential primary contest. Speaking with clarity and emphasis, the former President described the rumours as misleading, unfounded, and damaging narratives that have persisted for years without any tangible evidence to support them.
According to Mr. Kufuor, he never endorsed Alan against Akufo-Addo nor provided him with assistance to gain an unfair advantage, and he stressed that he maintained strict neutrality throughout the internal process, despite external attempts to paint a different picture. He explained that these claims have survived mainly because they fit into political storylines that people find convenient, even though they do not reflect what genuinely occurred within the party at the time.
He further revealed that after the NPP’s victory in the 2000 elections, he actually reached out to Alan Kyerematen with the intention of appointing him as a minister, yet Alan declined the offer for personal reasons, which makes the accusations of favoritism even harder to justify. This, he argued, demonstrates that his leadership style was rooted in inclusion rather than factional interest.
Kufuor’s clarification comes at a time when internal party debates have intensified following the NPP’s 2024 electoral defeat, a loss he believes was influenced heavily by policy missteps under the Akufo-Addo administration. He pointed to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, the PDS scandal, and the National Cathedral controversy as issues that severely weakened public trust and shifted voter sentiment. In his view, the unity, credibility, and momentum that helped secure the party’s victory in 2016 were lost when these decisions created widespread dissatisfaction among Ghanaians.
