Aspiring flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, has touted his gains which he believes make him the best bet for the 2024 election.

According to him, he has worked his way to the top of the party and has served diligently.

“I have walked in the party and served all the leaders. I was part of the 1996 campaign team and led Kufuor’s campaign in 1998.

“I have worked as a public servant and know how the sector worked so I have had that experience and have built a private consultancy. I’m a multilayered individual who served as a press secretary for almost six years,” he touted.

Speaking on Accra-based Peace FM, the former NPP General Secretary stressed his popularity is also not in doubt as he became a national celebrity at age 25.

This, he explained, came with his job as a sports broadcaster with Ghana Broadcasting Corporation which was the widely watched station at the time.

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According to him, an aspirant’s message is what influences delegates and voters and not money.

“No one has money and no one uses his own money to do politics in this country. It is your message that will push others to support you. Politics is not all about money else there are many rich men who could be presidents,” he said on Accra-based Peace FM.

The former Jubilee House transport officer disclosed that when elected president, party communicators, and council of elders will be paid a 10% cut of government officials’ salaries.

“Some people have served NPP for years. For instance, the communications team spread the word about the accomplishments of the Akufo-Addo administration but do not receive salaries. If I’m elected as flagbearer and I become president, I’ll cut government appointees’ salary by 10% to pay the party’s communicators and council of elders,” he pledged.

Mr Oppong has joined 10 others to contest for the party’s flagbearer position prior to the 2024 general election.

NPP’s presidential primary is set to come off on November 4, 2023, after vetting prospective presidential candidates from July 3-6, 2023.

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According to him, the conduct of a few politicians has resulted in the stereotyping of all politicians though they are some genuine ones among them.

The majority of Ghanaians, he says, see politics as an avenue for making quick cash and therefore no longer respect politicians because they see them as seeking their mandate to enrich themselves.

“If you look at the results of surveys conducted, the respect that Ghanaians have, has reduced because the majority of them are holding the view that politics is an avenue for making money”, he disclosed on Kumasi-based Hello FM.

The former Presidential Spokesperson disclosed that it behooves politicians themselves to change the narrative by conducting themselves in a manner to regain the confidence of the Ghanaian populace.

“This is so because of the conduct exhibited by some politicians in the country. Those are the bad examples that we should not follow. It should take some of us the politicians to change the narrative.” He urged.

Unveiling his resolve to change the status quo, the NPP flagbearer aspirant stressed “My passion is about the transformation of the Ghanaian people not only for politicians. Because politicians are those we vote for to take care of our resources and govern the country, they have to live by example. I have come to present myself because I believe God has given me a skillset, I am a multi-layered person.”

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According to him, huge cracks have developed within his party that needs fixing in order for the NPP to regain its former glory.

He noted that Ghana’s current hung parliament in particular is a testament to how broken the party is.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, he said the poor performance of the party in the 2020 elections would have to be remedied, and he is the man for the job.

“I want to be President because I want to be the flagbearer of the NPP which is what is driving me. To give me an opportunity for me to make a contribution to the New Patriotic Party. As you saw in 2020 elections, the results were not satisfactory, now we have 137, NDC has 137. We came from 169, we lost a net of 36 constituencies, our presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who beat Mahama by 1.5 million votes, unprecedented in the 4^th Republic had his votes drop to only half a million in 2020.

“And the puzzling thing is given the first term of Akufo-Addo where there was no Covid and things were running for this country with the growth of the economy and so on, one would have thought that Ghanaians would actually give us a pat on the back by voting for even higher numbers than 2016, but what happened? We nearly lost parliament.

“And now of course 137-137, the only difference between Majority and Minority is one independent candidate who decided to work with us, who was previously a Member of Parliament for NPP. So you see that we’re not in a good place,” he said.

He noted that the apathy towards the NPP was not caused by the government’s performance, but rather the failure of the party leadership to unite the party and lead the charge.

Describing the party as a machine, he said its engine was broken and needs fixing immediately.

“And the interesting thing is, this sharp drop in our performance in election 2020 wasn’t because of the message or whatever NDC were giving. It was to do with the party. See the party is the machinery, if I called an uber here to take me to my house and the uber comes and the engine is broken, I could sit in that car forever and ever and it won’t move.

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“Yes [the party’s engine is broken] because why is that we have good performance in the first term, our opposition didn’t have any message, NDC didn’t have any message for 2020 election and yet we nearly lost parliament and the majority side has been cut down? And it’s all because as I said, given the performance of the government, it’s the party and the affairs of the party which for me that’s where I put my finger,” he said.

Dr Afriyie Akoto is convinced he is the man for the job due to his in-depth understanding of the party’s ailments and his resolve to ensure that the party is re-energised.

“In human history, no amount of the will of the people to go in one direction succeeds without a leadership which understands the problem. So this is where I’m coming from.

“That I’ll be given the opportunity by the delegates in the course of this year to bear the flag of the NPP and then I will do whatever it takes, even if it’s a week, at least the kind of measures that I have in mind to bring into the party would ginger our party to the action,” he said.

A flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has stated some people have always perceived him to be arrogant.

However, the former Minister for Food and Agriculture has said that is untrue.

Dr Akoto made these remarks during a public lecture on the future of Ghana’s economy on Monday at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).

“For those who know me well, I’m known to be confident, very passionate and to have strong views on many subjects.

“Frequently, I have often been perceived as too serious and arrogant but that is far from the reality in fact, I am a very friendly person, open-hearted and affable person,” he said.

Dubbed The future of the economy of Ghana, the former Minister shared insights into building the agricultural sector into a bedrock for financing the development of other sectors of the Ghanaian economy.

On his motivation to be a public servant, Dr Akoto said it was borne out of monitoring his father at an early stage of his life.

“Watching my father’s commitment to public service both as a traditional leader and modern political leader at the time defined the key moments in my life as I grew up.

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“He instilled in me the passion for service and to serve my motherland with all within me even if it costs me an arm and a leg,” he touted.

Dr Akoto is one of the NPP stalwarts eyeing the flagbearership position of the party for the 2024 elections.

Besides him and Mr Alan Kyerematen, Mr Kwabena Agyapong, Mr Kennedy Agyapong, Mr Joe Ghartey and Mr Boagye Agyarko have all declared their intention to contest the flagbearership of the NPP but the party is yet to come out with a date for the presidential primaries.

However, he has noted that at the core of his vision for Ghana when given the nod to lead the UP Tradition and subsequently become the President of the Republic, is the prioritisation of public resources to the agricultural sector.

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Aside from being a coordinator of the National Students Union, he was deeply involved in politics and criticised the military rule, which made him “a target”.

According to him, he was seized by some soldiers amidst the confusion of an attempted coup.

“Halidu Giwa and Captain Denis in June 1983 attempted a coup. They went to do a broadcast at GBC and in the confusion, soldiers arrested me at the Redemption Circle.

 “In fact when I was arrested, the soldier who questioned me at the Redemption asked me what my name was and I said Boakye Agyarko then he goes on his radio to say that we got him,” he recounted.

Mr Agyarko stated that he was advised by a high-ranked soldier to leave the country, so he did after recovering.

“I was driven to Air Force station and shot. I was sent to the 37 Military Hospital mortuary. That was when the nurse realised I was alive,” he said.

He explained that he had to undergo several surgeries abroad to get fit.

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“Up till now, I feel the effect of the gunshot,” he said on Accra-based Hello FM.

He said this when he held a breakfast meeting with some clergymen in Accra on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.

Describing politics and religion as ‘two sides of the same coin’, at the meeting, Mr Kyerematen said the bond between politics and religion is interwoven, adding that they are “two varied ways of leadership.”

“Both politics and religion revolve around leadership and followership, while politicians take care of the physical wellbeing of the people, the clergy takes care of their spiritual wellbeing”, the former Trade and Industry Minister told the clergy present.

He cited his Great Transformational Plan (GTP), recently launched in his national broadcast, as one of many prospects to steer the affairs of the nation to prosperity.

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“When Ghana prospers, the people of Ghana will also prosper,” the former Trade Minister and Industry said.

He promised to continually exhibit humility and leadership of service to the people, which has always been his hallmark.

Mr Kyerematen was accompanied by his wife, Mrs Patricia Christabel Kyerematen and their two sons.

This comes after the NPP General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua, in a statement, indicated Mr Adorye has been invited to appear before the National Complaints Committee for publicly endorsing a flagbearer hopeful.

The party noted all flagbearer hopefuls have also been invited for a meeting with the Steering Committee over such endorsements as it contradicts their rules.

But the 2020 NPP Kpone-Katamanso parliamentary aspirant says he remains firm and nothing can push him out of line.

Mr Adorye gave this assurance in a Facebook post, stating: “Sometimes the person you want to take the bullet for is the same person behind the trigger, life is not fair.”

Below is the post: