NAPO compared records and did not denigrate Nkrumah – NPP MP

The Member of Parliament for Amasaman, Akwasi Owusu Afrifa-Mensa, has defended Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh over the latter’s claim that President Akufo-Addo is a better president than Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The MP says the running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should be understood and not taken out of context.

He said it is important for us to move on and put the past behind us. He opined that it was not the intention of the former energy minister to denigrate Kwame Nkrumah but to compare the records between President Akufo-Addo and the late Kwame Nkrumah.

The lawmaker said we don’t have to stretch the comments.

"The running mate himself has explained that his intention was not to denigrate but to compare the records of two people. Mentioning the name Kwame Nkrumah even points to the fact that he (NAPO) acknowledged that Kwame Nkrumah did his part.

“How many years has it been since Kwame Nkrumah died? It has been about 60 years, so we have to move on as a nation. Whether he performed exceptionally well or poorly is neither here nor there.

"We have to forge ahead and think about what we have to do for the country to be better in the years ahead. We have to adopt measures to make Ghana better. The past is gone, and we can’t bring Kwame Nkrumah back. Even if he were alive, he would be old and would not even have the skill or knowledge to manage the country,” he said.

He asked Ghanaians to focus on the positives in the speech of the running mate.

He said there is no perfect president in the world, and anyone who would lead us would certainly have challenges.

He described NAPO, as he is affectionately called, as efficient, competent, and a perfect choice as a running mate. He asked party supporters to rally behind the Bawumia and NAPO ticket to secure victory for the NPP.