Key Cabinet ministers aspiring to succeed President Kufuor at the NPP primaries later this year, who have been asked to quit or be sacked, reportedly turned up extremely late at the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, according to the Gye Nyame Concord.

Their late presence at the meeting was said to have sparked speculations (that they were trying to avoid their fate following reports that a Cabinet reshuffle was imminent.

The paper said by mid-day, its sources claimed almost all the eight ministers likely to be booted out of office had failed to turn up for the meeting billed to start at 10am prompt, when other colleague Cabinet ministers, Vice President Aliu Mahama and President Kufuor were all ready to get going.

The paper said some of the ministers sent word that their delays were the result of the parliamentary debate on the ongoing energy crisis between the majority New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC)-led minority MPs.

The energy debate scheduled for Thursday in Parliament did not come off though.

The paper said its Castle hounds suggested that having gathered that the President was going to either accept their resignations or dismiss them, most of the Cabinet Ministers chose to wait-and-see.

The ministers in the firing line, some of who have reportedly prepared their resignation letters, are Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, Minister for Defence; Messrs Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing; Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Tourism and Diaspora Relations and Felix Owusu Adjapong, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and sitting Minister for Road Transport.

Others are Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, Minister for Communications; Papa Owusu-Ankomah, Minister for Education, Science and Sports; Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD and Alan Kyeremanten, Minister for Trade and Industry.

The eight were informed by the President a little over a week ago to prepare to hand over their resignation letters or risk being dismissed as ministers of state if they were to continue with their campaign for the flagbearer of the NPP.

Prior to the President directive, most of the Minister aspirants were gearing up for heated campaigns as they prepare.

Source: Gye Nyame Concord with files from myjoyonline.com