Former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Joseph Osei-Owusu says Alan Kyerematen would be welcome back into the New Patriotic Party as a member, but cannot expect to take over its presidential ticket.
Mr Osei-Owusu, popularly known as Joe Wise, said the NPP had already completed its flagbearer selection process and any returning member must respect the party’s established procedures.
The chairman of the party’s Disciplinary Committee was speaking to journalists at a sensitisation programme for constituency secretaries in Kumasi.
His comments followed reports suggesting that Mr Kyerematen would consider returning only if offered the opportunity to lead the NPP into the next general election. That interpretation has been challenged by officials of Mr Kyerematen’s United Party.
Presidential ticket already decided
Mr Osei-Owusu rejected the suggestion that the party could accommodate an immediate demand for its flagbearer position, saying he had initially regarded the reported condition as a joke.
“The party has a channel of electing a flagbearer, and that procedure has been completed,” he said.
He referred to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s position as the party’s elected candidate and suggested that any future presidential ambition by Mr Kyerematen would have to be considered at the appropriate time.
His remarks offered no guarantee of a future nomination or an uncontested route to the presidential ticket.
Return must follow party procedures
Mr Osei-Owusu nevertheless acknowledged the former Trade Minister’s contribution to the NPP and said the party needed more members to strengthen its organisation.
“Alan Kyerematen has duly served the party in so many ways, so if he comes, we will accept him,” he said.
He urged Mr Kyerematen to follow the procedures available to former members seeking readmission if he wished to return.
United Party officials have separately pushed back against suggestions that their leader is seeking a return.
In an interview reported by Rainbow Radio on October 23, the party’s National Communications Director, Solomon Owusu, described the flagbearer comments as mockery rather than a serious proposal.
He maintained that Mr Kyerematen remained committed to the United Party and had no intention of rejoining the NPP.
