By Daniel Bampoe
Former Trade and Industry Minister John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen has reignited the political debate within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) after reportedly declaring that he would consider returning to the party only if its leadership makes him the presidential candidate for the 2028 general elections.
Alan Kyerematen, popularly known as Alan Cash, is reported to have made the remarks during an interview with DW Africa, where he maintained that his return to the NPP under his leadership as flagbearer would offer the party its best opportunity to recapture political power in 2028.
Alan Kyerematen seeking to return to the NPP under the guise of a flagbearer is an indication that his new political movement, the United Party (UP) is not clicking. In the last election, despite trumpeting that he was going to cause an upset, he struggled to garner 30,000 votes placing fourth after new entrant, Kwame Bediako aka Cheddar.
The reported position presents a significant challenge to the NPP’s current political direction under its flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who is preparing to lead the party into the next general election following the NPP’s defeat in 2024.
Although Alan Kyerematen’s reported comments do not amount to a formal demand that the party sack Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, they effectively raise a question about whether the NPP should reconsider its leadership and presidential strategy ahead of the next election.
His position also reopens an old political rivalry between two prominent figures who competed for the NPP’s presidential nomination before Kyerematen eventually broke away from the party.
From NPP Presidential Aspirant To Political Outsider
A longstanding figure within the party, he served in various political and diplomatic roles and became particularly associated with trade, industrialisation and private-sector development during the administration of former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
He later served as Minister for Trade and Industry under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, where he became associated with the government’s One District, One Factory initiative, which sought to promote industrial development and create employment through the establishment of factories across the country.
For years, Alan Kyerematen was considered one of the leading figures within the NPP and a potential successor to Akufo-Addo. His presidential ambitions, however, brought him into direct competition with other influential party figures, particularly Dr Bawumia.
The contest became increasingly consequential as the NPP prepared to select a candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
During the party’s presidential selection process in 2023, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia emerged as the eventual winner, defeating Kyerematen and several other aspirants.
The outcome represented a major setback for Kyerematen, who had spent years building his political profile and pursuing the opportunity to lead the party into a national election.
However, rather than remain within the party and support its eventual nominee, he announced his resignation from the NPP on September 25, 2023, citing what he described as unfairness and irregularities in the internal electoral process.
Why Alan Kyerematen Left The NPP
Kyerematen’s departure was rooted in allegations of unfair treatment, concerns about internal party democracy and his dissatisfaction with the handling of the presidential selection process.
In explaining his decision, he accused elements within the party’s leadership and government establishment of creating an environment that favoured a particular candidate.
He also expressed concerns about incidents of intimidation and violence involving supporters and campaign representatives during the party’s August 2023 Super Delegates Conference.
Kyerematen argued that the NPP had departed from the founding principles of fairness, transparency and equal opportunity that he believed should guide its internal affairs.
He further suggested that the party’s structures had been captured by powerful individuals whose interests had become more influential than the collective aspirations of its members.
The NPP leadership and Bawumia’s supporters, however, proceeded with the party’s electoral process, which produced Bawumia as the flagbearer for the 2024 general election.
Kyerematen subsequently launched the Movement for Change and contested the 2024 presidential election as an independent candidate, positioning himself as an alternative to the NPP and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
His decision marked a decisive break with the political organisation in which he had spent a substantial part of his career.
Following the 2024 election, he continued to pursue his political ambitions outside the NPP and later established the United Party, UP as part of his effort to build an alternative political platform.
His reported willingness to return to the NPP only if he is made its flagbearer therefore represents a striking development in the relationship between the former party stalwart and his former political home.
Bawumia’s Position Becomes Central To The Debate
The reported condition has inevitably placed Bawumia at the centre of the debate because he is the NPP’s current flagbearer for the 2028 presidential election.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia secured the party’s nomination after winning its presidential primary, giving him the responsibility of rebuilding the NPP following its defeat in the 2024 general election.
His leadership has since been accompanied by efforts to reconcile factions within the party, strengthen its organisational structures and develop policies aimed at restoring public confidence.
The NPP’s challenge is significant. Having lost the presidency in 2024, the party must convince voters that it has learned from its electoral setback and can offer a credible alternative to the governing NDC.
Alan Kyerematen’s reported position introduces another dimension to that challenge by suggesting that the party should reconsider its leadership choice if it genuinely wants to maximise its chances of victory.
However, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s supporters could argue that replacing a duly elected flagbearer would undermine the party’s internal democratic process and create further divisions at a time when unity is considered essential to its recovery.
Is Alan Cash Seeking Reconciliation Or A Political Takeover?
Kyerematen’s reported condition raises questions about the nature of any potential reconciliation between him and the NPP.
A return to the party would ordinarily require discussions about his membership status, his relationship with the current leadership and the political circumstances that led to his departure.
But making the flagbearership a condition of returning would take the conversation beyond ordinary reconciliation.
It would effectively require the party to reconsider the outcome of its presidential selection process and potentially displace the candidate chosen by its delegates.
That position could prove difficult for the NPP to accommodate, particularly if Bawumia and his supporters remain committed to his candidacy.
Under the party’s constitutional framework, a member who voluntarily resigns does not automatically regain membership simply by expressing a desire to return. Any proposed re-entry would have to be handled in accordance with the party’s applicable rules and procedures.
The question of who leads the NPP into 2028 would also involve the party’s established nomination processes rather than an automatic transfer of the flagbearership to a returning member.
Consequently, Alan Kyerematen’s reported statement could be interpreted as an invitation to renegotiate his relationship with the party, but it does not in itself establish that the NPP has agreed to reconsider Bawumia’s position.
The Kufuor Factor And The Politics Of Succession
The dispute also reflects a broader history of competition over succession within the NPP.
Alan Kyerematen’s political career developed during the period when former President Kufuor led the party and governed Ghana from 2001 to 2009. Alan Kyerematen subsequently became one of the prominent figures associated with the party’s economic and industrial policy agenda.
Dr Bawumia, meanwhile, rose to national political prominence through his work as an economist and his appointment as running mate to Akufo-Addo in the 2008 presidential election. He later served as Vice President from 2017 to 2025.
Their different political backgrounds did not prevent them from becoming competitors for the same presidential opportunity.
When Kufuor publicly expressed support for Dr Bawumia’s presidential ambitions, Kyerematen criticised the endorsement, arguing that it damaged the former president’s legacy. The disagreement added another layer to the political tensions surrounding the NPP’s succession debate.
Some critics have interpreted Kyerematen’s continued criticism of Bawumia through the lens of personal rivalry and disappointment over the presidential contest.
His supporters, however, maintain that his disagreements with Bawumia and the NPP leadership concern policy direction, competence and the need for a different approach to national development.
There is no established basis for presenting allegations of envy or personal resentment as fact. What is clear is that the competition for the NPP flagbearership became a defining moment in Kyerematen’s political relationship with the party.
The 2024 Defeat And The Search For A Winning Formula
The NPP’s defeat in the 2024 general election has added urgency to the debate about the party’s future leadership.
Bawumia led the NPP into that election but lost to the NDC’s John Dramani Mahama, who returned to the presidency after previously serving from 2012 to 2017.
The result forced the NPP to confront questions about its campaign strategy, economic record, public image and relationship with voters.
