Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
A group of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Constituency Chairmen in the Greater Accra Region, have mounted a swift denial after news publication emerged that they have endorsed the candidature of Dr. Afriyie Osei Akoto, one of ten flagbearer hopefuls of the NPP.
According to a cross-section of the Chairmen, that claim is a palpable lie.
“We were at the meeting because he (Dr. Osei Akoto) had asked to meet with us and that is what we did as a matter of formality. We never made any pledges, let alone endorse his candidature. It is therefore a palpable lie that we endorsed his candidature,” said the group.
Calling itself “Concerned Greater Accra Regional Chairmen of the NPP” the group said they are disappointed in the Publisher newspaper, “which wrote those wild lies.”
“However, we want to put on record that none of us endorsed the candidature of Dr. Osei Afriyie Akoto,” the group insisted in an exclusive interview granted in Accra.
They added that “if anything at all, most of us are actually supportive of the candidature of Vice President Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia.”
But while the group of Concerned Greater Accra Regional Chairmen wished to remain anonymous with the denial for the sake of peace in the party, there are some radical ones among the Chairmen who descended heavy on The Publisher newspaper.
“That useless story is coming from chamber pot journalism,” said Nene Ofoe-Teyechu Agbadiagba lV, the NPP’s Constituency Chairman for Tema East.
According to him, “I think that whoever wrote that story ate too much beans and then begun hallucinating in the middle of the night.”
He points out that many of the Constituency Chairmen in the capital region were not even at the meeting with Dr. Afriyie Akoto.
“Besides, it is a well-known fact that virtually all the constituency Chairmen in Greater Accra, including my good self, are pro Bawumia.
So how can we all of a sudden be supporting Dr. Afriyie Akoto?” he asked sarcastically.
Nene advised the publisher newspaper to, “learn to lie creatively if it cannot do factual journalism.”
He points out that the upcoming presidential primary is a two-horse race between Vice President Bawumia and former Trade Minister, Alan John Kwadwo Kyeremanten.
“And so, if it were true that the constituency Chairmen in Greater Accra were abandoning Bawumia to support someone else, logically, that would be Alan, not Dr. Afriyie Akoto.”
Nene cited polls, including many by Global Info Analytics which has emphasized that indeed Dr. Bawumia and Alan are the two leading contenders, with Dr. Bawumia slightly ahead of Alan.
The Tema East NPP Chairman urged the general public to, “treat the story with the contempt it deserves.”
On July 3, 2023, Dr. Afriyie Akoto embarked on a nationwide campaign starting from the Greater Accra region. Even though the man is among the least winsome among the lot, as he lags behind Dr. Bawumia, Alan Kyeremanten and Kennedy Agyapong, The Publisher newspaper has recently claimed that Greater Accra Chairmen have endorsed him to become the next flagbearer.
