Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto
A flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has said that the seeming polarisation in the NPP in its current state cannot guarantee the party victory in the 2024 general elections.
He said the party needs to work hard, close its ranks and approach the 2024 elections with a more united front to attract the needed votes that will ensure victory.
According to him, it is a dent on the image of the party and the government to see millions of Ghanaians, mostly party members, wallow in abject poverty.
In the view of Dr. Akoto, it was the aspirations of many party faithful to have a spark in their life when the NPP won the 2016 general elections, having been in opposition for eight years.
However, their hopes were dashed following neglect by the party and the government, a situation Dr. Akoto described as “very sad and unfortunate”.
Addressing journalists at his Kumasi residence yesterday, he said the challenge at hand will require that the winner of the presidential primary will initiate measures to address it before going into the 2024 general elections.
He said the people had so much hope in the party that the neglect of its base has brought about apathy, which needed someone with smart thinking and strategies to win back their confidence.
“Ten months to the 2020 elections was when I even got a better view of what was going on. I was with President Akufo-Addo everywhere he went and the sentiments expressed by the people across the country were such that we couldn’t escape the fact that the morale of the NPP activists on the ground were very low,” noted the former Food and Agriculture Minister.
He added, “So, the NPP is not in a good place to contest to retain power next year, and we have to address this issue very seriously.”
Ashanti Region Tour Suspension
Dr. Akoto used the occasion to announce the suspension of his tour to the Ashanti Region, in order to mourn with former President John Agyekum Kufuor, who lost his wife, Theresa Kufuor, on Sunday, October 1, 2023.
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