I'll Never Support Alan�Kufuor Was Against My Candidature � Haruna Esseku

A former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Haruna Esseku, says he has never supported and will never back Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanteng�s bid to be the party�s flagbearer. �Your guess is as good as mine,� he replied when asked why he has taken such a strong stance against Alan�s candidature. Speaking in an interview on AdomFm, Mr. Esseku said he rather supports fully, the candidature of the Party�s 2008 presidential candidate, Nana Akufo Addo as he is better suited to wrestle power from the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). According to him, his preference for Nana Akufo Addo to lead the party in the next general elections, is due to a myriad of reasons. �I supported one of them in 2007 and I am still supporting that person I voted for in 2007. I have not changed my views about who I support, he stated. Touching on his recent remark that Ex-President Kufuor is not the best person to reconcile the Alan/Nana Addo factions, Harona Esseku said the media misrepresented his comments. He alleged that Mr. Kufuor identified himself so much with the Alan campaign in 2007 and because of that association, �it was going to be difficult for him to initiate a peaceful talk� as being suggested by a Founding member of the party, Dr. Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe. The NPP stalwart opined that since Mr. Kufuor is in the league of statesmen, he should be allowed to bask in his role as an ex-president and not be unnecessarily hassled with some party issues. �Why should you give him an assignment which will bring him back in the public domain as the subject of discussion?� he asked. According to him, the ex-President was fond of openly supporting people he preferred, and cited an incident that occurred in 2005 when he decided to run again as the National Chairman, with his then Vice, Stephen Ntim, also in contention. �When I discussed it with the then President (Kufuor), he openly told me he supports Stephen Ntim, thus confirming all the rumours I had earlier heard,� he said. �I also found out that Stephen Ntim was very close to Alan Kyeremanteng�.There was an instance when I went to Alan�s office to discuss business with him and I met him with Stephen Ntim. He (Ntim) asked whether I belonged to the Alan camp and what I was doing there,� he disclosed. Mr Esseku also revealed that in 2007, he again saw Stephen Ntim as one of the lead campaigners for Alan. �I have no reason to doubt that. I also believe that perception (that Ntim is in Alan�s camp),� he emphasized.