President Nana Akufo-Addo has come under criticism from Dr. Jonathan Asante Okyere, a political science lecturer at Cape Coast University, for betraying the aspirations of former Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen.

Dr. Okyere contends that despite earlier indications that President Akufo-Addo would pass the leadership baton to Kyerematen, he has disregarded those ambitions. 

This perceived disregard has led to a challenging situation for Kyerematen, who was initially part of the establishment but later resigned from it.

This political science lecturer sees Kyerematen's withdrawal from the presidential race as a significant development, potentially posing challenges for the NPP in the future. He argues that one of Kyerematen's strengths was the perception that the President had betrayed him, particularly after indicating that he would hand over leadership to him for the 2024 general elections.

Dr. Okyere expressed his criticism of President Akufo-Addo during an interview on Class91.3FM's 505 news programme on Tuesday, 5 September 2023. 

He highlighted the historical presence of an establishment candidate supported by the President in the NPP race.

President Akufo-Addo, in the past, publicly stated that he has no preference in the upcoming NPP delegates conference to elect a new presidential candidate for the 2024 elections. 

He emphasised his commitment to ensuring victory for the NPP and the selected flagbearer, with a focus on uniting the party to confront the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the upcoming elections.

President Akufo-Addo's stance is one of neutrality, as he seeks to create conditions for a fair and unified internal election process within the party. His primary concern is identifying a candidate who can unite the NPP and position it competitively against its traditional opponent, the National Democratic Congress, in the 2024 elections.

“The only time that preference will be shown is when I go to vote, but until then I have no preference. My attitude, is a simple one; just create the condition for a fair process, one that will enable us after the completion [of the internal elections] to unite the party,” said President Akufo-Addo.

“… Somebody who will come and have the capacity to unite our party and put it in a position to confront the traditional opponent, the National Democratic Congress, and beat the National Democratic Congress,” he added.