Executive Director of Global InfoAnalytics Mussa Dankwa has said that the selection of Manhyia South lawmaker Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh as the running mate to the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Dr Mahamudu Bawumia may be a result of the party’s realisation that they are losing ground in the stronghold, the Ashanti Region, therefore, they needed a person of Opoku Prempeh’s caliber.

He said the campaign activities of the leader of the Movement for Change Alan Kyermaten and independent presidential aspirant Kwame Bediako contributed to the fear of the NPP losing grips in the region.

“They have seen that they are not as young as they used to be in Ahanti region with Alan there and also Kwame Bediako so they needed someone like Napo,” he said on TV3 while discussing the selection of Energy Minister as Dr Bawumia’s running mate on Thursday July 4.

He further stated that running mates are usually selected to attract floating votes but the selection of Opoku Premeh is not targeting that.

This is the first time a running mate has been selected who is not attracting floating voters, he added.

General Secretary of the NPP Justin Kodua Frimpong said that it was worthy to note that throughout his 4-year tenure of Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh as Minister for Education, there was significant industrial harmony and stability in the education front.

Dr Opoku Prempeh ensured that the concerns of teachers and other players in the education sector were adequately attended to.

“This therefore confirms that Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has an incredible interpersonal
and negotiation skills. He is arguably the only Minister of Education in this Fourth Republic to have achieved this feat. Having delivered at the Ministry for Education, the President appointed him during his second term to head the Ministry of Energy, where he again, demonstrated his stellar leadership qualities.

“He worked very hard to KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, even during the times of unprecedented global economic crisis when every sector of the economy was virtually in “darkness”, gasping for breath,” Kodua Frimpong said while announcing the former Minister of Education and currently Energy Minister as the running mate to Dr Bawumia.

Regarding the power challenges, he said “We however concede that in the last couple of weeks and months, some parts of the country did face some power challenges.

“But, the good news is that, unlike in the past particularly under H.E John Dramani Mahama, where we slept in darkness for over four(4) years, Dr. Prempeh ensured that the recent power challenges we experienced did not last beyond three (3) months. He is indeed results-oriented, and there is absolutely no debate about that.”

Read his full statement here