Retain Napo For Veep …Ashanti Regional Minister Joins Campaign

THE SIGNS are gradually becoming clear that DR. Matthew Opoku Prempeh is the people’s most popular choice to partner Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia as running mate on the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) ticket for the 2028 elections.

Already, scores of political connoisseurs, especially in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital, have openly endorsed Dr. Prempeh, who is nicknamed as ‘Napo’ in the political circles, to be retained as the NPP vice presidential candidate.

Significantly, the latest top personality in the country to add to his voice to the Bawumia-Napo ticket for the NPP in the 2028 presidential and parliamentary elections, is the Ashanti Regional Minster, Dr. Frank Amoakohene.

According to the young minister, Dr. Prempeh, who is a former Energy Minister during the erstwhile NPP administration, possesses all the qualities to be a fantastic Vice President so Dr. Bawumia’s should retain him as running mate.

Displaying political maturity and being candid, Dr. Amoakohene, who belongs to the NPPs fiercest political rivals, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), stated that Napo should not be replaced by Dr. Bawumia.

“Bawumia should select Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh (Napo) as his running mate. He deserves a second chance”, the Ashanti Regional Minister is quoted to have said on ‘Day Break’, the morning show programme on Fakye TV.

He argued that Dr. Bawumia’s inability to win the 2024 presidential election doesn’t mean that he should throw his running mate under the bus, stressing that Dr. Prempeh, who is an astute politician, should be retained by the NPP.

Still openly throwing his unflinching support for Napo as the NPP vice presidential candidate for the 2028 elections, Dr. Amoakohene said it’s his hope that his wise counsel, which is devoid of malice, would be taken by Dr. Bawumia.

Napo is a huge brand and household name in Ghanaian politics, having served the people of Manhyia South Constituency in the Ashanti Region as Member of Parliament (MP) on NPP ticket for four consecutive terms.

When the NPP won political power in 2016, Dr. Prempeh, who is a distinguished medical practitioner of international repute, was appointed as the Minister of Education by the then President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Napo, who is widely known as a results-oriented leader, was tasked by the president to introduce the NPP government’s flagship policy, the free Senior High School (SHS) programme, a task he accomplished with distinction.

When the NPP government’s mandate was renewed in 2020, the country was facing power challenges, which had a toll on businesses so President Akufo-Addo moved Napo to the Energy Ministry to find solutions to the problem.

Again, Napo upon assumption of office as the Energy Minister, introduced the famous ‘Dum Sie Sie’ to wit “briefly cut power supply and fix the problem” policy. This novelty policy also yielded positive results as power supply was stabilized.

Considering his positive track record in parliament and as minister of education and energy, respectively, ex-Vice President, Dr. Bawumia, settled on Dr. Prempeh as his vice presidential candidate for the 2024 polls, which the NPP lost.