President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana has accepted the resignation of his trade and industry minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen.
The Director of Communications at the Office of the President, Jubilee House, Eugene Arhin made this known in a press release dated January 6, 2023.
According to the release, the President accepted the resignation on Friday, January 6, 2023.
It said Mr Kyerematen on Thursday, January 5, informed the President personally of his decision to resign, and subsequently submitted his letter of resignation to him.
Mr. Kyerematen’s resignation comes ahead of the ruling New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) Presidential Primaries scheduled to be held later in 2023.
The NPP is due to elect a new flagbearer to replace incumbent President Akufo-Addo whose tenure will come to an end in January 2025.
Mr. Kyerematen has since 2007, contested the NPP’s Presidential Primaries but failed to win on any of those occasions.
His supporters have in recent time taken to social media and mainstream media platforms to ask him to resign as Trade Minister to enable him focus on his Presidential ambition.
It therefore remains unclear if his resignation is to enable him concentrate on the upcoming flagbearer race of the ‘elephant party’ which is to take place possibly at the later part of 2023.
In 2007, Mr. Kyerematen lost the NPP flagbearer race to Mr. Akufo-Addo after garnering 32.3% of the votes cast that year.
He once again contested against Akufo-Addo in 2010 and 2014 but lost on all those occasions also.
Mr. Kyerematen assumed office as Ghana’s Trade and Industry Minister in 2017.