The aide to NPP flagbearer aspirant, Francis Addai-Nimoh says the campaign team is optimistic about the outcome of the strategy used by the team ahead of the party’s presidential primaries.
According to George Obeng-Antwi, the team targeted selected delegates, hence the likelihood of Mr. Addai-Nimoh winning the polls.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, Mr. Obeng-Antwi explained that transportation and lunch money given to voters were also targeted.
“In the Special College Election, we went round all the constituencies and we had meetings with all the delegates but with this main election, we had a different strategy.
“We have coordinated all over the 275 constituencies and we had a plan to engage those we think will support Addai-Nimoh’s bid so we didn’t necessarily move around all the 275 constituencies and the time was also limited.
“The campaign process is such that when you invite someone to meet you, at a point it is just appropriate for you to take care of certain things like transportation and lunch. You look for a target and you work with that target not necessarily the entire delegates,” he said.
This follows allegations of inducement and vote-buying ahead of the primaries. Many have also accused the fore-runners in the race of giving huge sums of money to the delegates in an effort to secure their votes.
The development has resulted in a public debate with many arguing that the money being spent due to the elections could be used to resolve critical issues the country is faced with.
But George Obeng-Antwi insists these are personal funds.
He says despite public perception that Mr. Addai-Nimoh will not win the presidential primary, individuals in Ghana are permitted to use personal resources for whatever purpose they deem fit.
“We would have to separate public financial administration from private enterprise. If someone believes in a candidate and supports the person with financial contribution, I think that is okay. But once we are not looking at the use of public funds and you have your money, you determine what to do with your money,” he stressed.
A total of 203,439 delegates are expected to partake in the New Patriotic Party’s ongoing presidential primary.
The election, which will elect a flagbearer to represent the party in the 2024 general elections will take place in the various constituencies across all 16 regions of the country.
The race is between the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, MP for Assin Central Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, former Agric Minister, Dr Owusu Akoto Afriyie, and former MP for Mampong Francis Addai-Nimoh.
