Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh's selection as running mate: Implications on the fortunes of NPP and Ghana

There is no gainsaying that the selection of Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh (aka Napo) as the Running Mate to the NPP Presidential Candidate, H.E Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is the biggest political news in the country, one that has particularly engaged the attention of political scientists and pundits.

In this piece, the writer, a lawyer and political activist, takes an analytic look at the political implications of the selection of Napo, first of all, on the fortunes of the NPP ahead of the 2024 general elections, and its implications on the fortunes of our dear country, Ghana.

 

IMPLICATIONS ON THE FORTUNES OF THE NPP

With respect to the NPP, the selection of Napo means that the party will go into the 2024 elections with an energised base. And an energised army, they say, is invincible on the battlefield. Inarguably, the biggest threat to the NPP’s 2024 electoral fortunes is not John Mahama or the NDC but internal apathy. The party grassroots complain of neglect and suggest that they may not come out tocampaign or vote for the party.

 

The NPP certainly ought to be concerned about this development especially because in 2008, the party lost the elections by the smallest of margins in our history (less than 1%), and this was largely attributed to voter apathy in the party’s strongholds resulting in low voter turnout particularly in the Ashanti Region.

 

It is an undeniable fact that in this Fourth Republic, the NPP is the party with the broadest support base in the country. The 21st century electoral data consistently shows that anytime the NPP is losing a general election, the party does not go below 47%, whereas in the case of NDC, the party losses elections with as little as 43%, as was the case in the 2000 and 2016 general elections. As a matter of fact, the NDC’s best performance when they are losing elections (47.2% in 2020) is the NPP’s worst performance when the party is losing elections (47.2% in 2012).

 

So, clearly, the NPP has a broader support base, and when this base is energised to come out and vote, the party is guaranteed at least some 47% of the total votes and only needs to work to secure at least 3% + 1vote to win the election. That is why the selection of Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh is the gamechanger for the NPP.

He has a great connection with the party’s grassroots having worked closely with them throughout his adult life, spanning over 3 decades and supported them in diverse ways. He also served as Member of Parliament on the party’s ticket for 16years. Dr. Prempeh is a great mobilizer and a crowd-puller. He also has huge political presence across the country.

 

It is therefore not surprising that his selection as Running Mate to the party’s Flagbearer has been unanimously welcomed and hailed by all the organs of the party and by the party’s rank and file, in all the regions of the country. Never in the history of the NPP has the choice of a Running Mate been this smooth and popular. This can only be a testament of Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh’s political astuteness, exceptional industry, charisma and unflinching commitment to the fortunes of the party.

 

Dr. Prempeh is also a politician with a very kind and generous heart, supporting families and transforming lives without attaching any conditions. He cares not whether you support NDC or NPP. He helps everybody that crosses his path. He embodies generosity and compassion. In fact, there cannot be an overestimation of the number of individuals and families he has supported and continues to support.

 

Social media has consistently been awash with stories about Napo’s kindness and generosity. He enjoys organic love and has become very popular even among members of the opposition political parties. This great and endearing attribute of Dr. Prempeh may be very necessary in helping the NPP secure the additional 3% it requires to win the impending general elections, ‘all things being equal’.

 

The selection of Dr. Prempeh also effectively hits the last nail on the coffin of Alan Kyerematen’s Butterfly Movement. Until now, the Movement had focused all its attention in the NPP’s strongholds particularly the Ashanti Region, trying to secure the support of disgruntled NPP members including some Kufour loyalists. But the selection of Napo, which has energised the party’s base and reconciled the various perceived factions in the party, has effectively destroyed this agenda.

 

It is therefore not surprising that some close allies and chief advisors to Alan Kyerematen including the revered Hon. S.K Boafo have all ditched him. In fact, Hon. S.K Boafo joined President Akufo-Addo and the NPP National Executives to officially introduce Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh as Dr. Bawumia’s Running Mate to His Royal Majesty Otumfuor Osei Tutu II, at the Manhyia Palace ahead of his outdooring in Kumasi on Tuesday, July 9, 2024.

 

The selection of Dr. Prempeh also reaffirms the NPP’s commitment to keeping fate with its time-tested tradition; a tradition of always pairing a career politician with a technocrat in its presidential ticket; a tradition of pairing a Muslim with a Christian in its presidential ticket; a tradition of pairing a Southerner with a Northerner in its presidential ticket; a tradition of Danquah-Busia-and-Dombo; a tradition that resonates with the great alliance between the Northern Peoples Party and the National Liberation Movement.

 

This tells you that the NPP is a party that is principled; that does not depart from its time-tested tradition. The party’s fidelity to principles and tradition is the reason why the NPP is the only party with a political tradition that has survived all the four republics in our history, and also remains the oldest political tradition in the country.

 

IMPLICATIONS ON THE FORTUNES OF THE COUNTRY

 

Without a shred of doubt, the selection of Hon. Dr.Matthew Opoku Prempeh equally has great significance on the fortunes of the country. It affords the country an opportunity to once again have a Vice President that is very results-oriented just like the current Vice President, H.E Dr.Mahamudu Bawumia. Political leadership is certainly not a mere flowchart, or a contest of sycophancy and docility disguised as humility.

 

Political leadership is about achieving results even in the most difficult circumstances, which is the ultimate measure of the competency of a leader as noted by Martin Luther King Jnr. Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has demonstrated time without number that he is only concerned about delivering results; nothing more, nothing less.

 

When President Akufo-Addo needed a results-oriented leader, who was also bold and decisive to implement his government’s flagship Free SHS policy, he had to depend on Napo. As courageous as he has always been, Napo rolled out the Free SHS policy, and that too, within the first year of the Akufo-Addo presidency against concerns by some members of the government that it was too early at the time to implement such revolutionary and far-reaching policy, which was said to be the biggest intervention in the country’s education sector since independence in 1957.

 

Today, the policy has secured the future of over 2 million young Ghanaians, most of whom would not have attained secondary education but for the Free SHS. Indeed, posterity has vindicated Napo, and I say to you that, Ghana needs such bold and decisive leaders, because that is the only way we can achieve results.

The education sector under Napo also witnessed significant reforms and infrastructure development. He also ensured industrial harmony in the education front, as there was no labour action throughout the period he served as Education Miniter. No Minister of State in the Fourth Republic has achieved this enviable feat.

 

No wonder Dr. Prempeh was selected as the 2020 recipient of the Harvard Ministerial Medal of Achievement in recognition of his work towards strengthening public education in Ghana. It is also not surprising that he won the Best Minister Award in 2017, 2019 and 2020.

He is in fact the MOST DECORATED MINISTER in the history of Ghana. Dr. Prempeh was also honoured with doctorate degrees by three public universities, the University of Education Winneba, the University of Cape Coast and the University of Professional Studies.

 

Dr. Prempeh also achieved similar feat when he became Energy Minister, where he again, worked hard to keep the lights on and power the nation even during the times of unprecedented global economic crisis. Also, it was during his time that the Kumasi-Kintampo section of Ghana’spower transmission infrastructure was completed and energized to improve the voltages in the Ashanti region as well as the three regions of the North. Only an extraordinary person like Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh could have achieved such feat, and that is the Vice President Ghana is going to have after the 2024 elections by the grace of Allah.

 

In conclusion, the foregoing analysis clearly suggests that the selection of Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh as theVice-Presidential Candidate of the NPP is not only a progressive decision that would positively impact the fortunes of the party but also one that would greatly impact the fortunes of our dear country, Ghana. After the 2024 general elections, we are going witness a new dawn: a dawn of progress, transformation and prosperity for all.

 

Ghana will be governed by the perfect pair- Dr. Bawumia and Dr. Prempeh, both of whom share a collective vision of bold solutions for the future of our country; solutions that are responsive to the needs, opportunities and challenges of the 21st century. Ghana’s Next Chapter, indeed, promises to be fulfilling and this cannot be emphasised enough. FORWARD, we MOVE and no one will be left behind.

Assalamu alaikum