The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for Ledzokuku and Minister of Health, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, has cautioned against voting for John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), warning that a return of Mahama to power could lead to the cancellation of nursing training allowances, as occurred during Mahama’s previous tenure.
Dr. Okoe Boye made these remarks during a campaign visit by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to the Lekma Nursing Training College.
Addressing the students, Dr. Okoe Boye stressed the importance of supporting Dr. Bawumia in the upcoming elections, highlighting the NPP’s commitment to the welfare of nursing students and future health professionals. He assured the students that under Dr. Bawumia’s leadership, their needs would be prioritized and their conditions would continue to improve. “The only candidate who can assure you that even if the ‘allawa’ delays, it will come. The only candidate who will call the minister to prepare the allawa list is Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,” he stated, using the term “allawa” to refer to the nursing training allowances.
Dr. Okoe Boye further emphasized the achievements of the current government in supporting nursing professionals, noting that “Finally, nurses want to be posted, right? When the other man was there, he said posting is not easy, but under this NPP government, just recently, more than 50,000 nurses have been given clearance.” He underscored that this demonstrated the NPP’s commitment to ensuring that nursing graduates find placement within the healthcare system, contrasting this with the NDC’s track record.
He criticized the opposition leader, John Mahama, for his approach to governance, comparing it to resetting a phone. “The other man said that he wants to reset Ghana. Do you have your phones here? When you do reset, would you still have anything on your phone? Everything goes back to zero. Reset means allawa will be cancelled. Reset means if you are a nurse, you might end up working somewhere else,” he warned, drawing a parallel between Mahama’s proposed policies and the loss of hard-earned gains.
Dr. Okoe Boye continued to emphasize the stark choice facing voters, especially students. He compared the idea of a reset, as proposed by Mahama, with an upgrade, which he associated with Bawumia’s leadership. “Now, if you upgrade your phone, you can only add better things to the phone. Dr. Bawumia is for an upgrade, the other man is for a reset,” he said, using this metaphor to illustrate the potential consequences of electing Mahama and the NDC.
Addressing the nursing students directly, he asked, “Which one are we choosing, reset or upgrade? So, my beautiful and handsome student nurses, please don’t only swallow the good news, share it with siblings that the only man who is here to solve our problem is Dr. Bawumia,” he urged.
Dr. Okoe Boye’s remarks come as part of a broader campaign effort to galvanize support for the NPP and its candidate, Dr. Bawumia, ahead of the upcoming elections. His speech underscored the party’s emphasis on continuity, stability, and progress, while painting a stark picture of the risks associated with a return to the NDC’s leadership.
By appealing directly to the interests and concerns of nursing students, he sought to create a strong base of support within the healthcare sector, stressing the tangible benefits that have come under the current administration and the potential threats posed by a change in leadership.
In his final appeal, Dr. Okoe Boye called on the students to spread the word and to ensure that their families and friends understand what is at stake in the upcoming elections. “We need your help to keep moving forward, to keep upgrading our country. Let’s make the right choice, not just for us, but for the future of our nation,” he concluded, reiterating his endorsement of Dr. Bawumia as the best candidate to lead Ghana into a prosperous future.
Dr. Okoe Boye’s passionate remarks serve to highlight the critical importance of the upcoming elections, not just for the nursing students in his audience, but for all Ghanaians concerned with the direction of the nation’s healthcare system and overall development. The visit by Vice President Dr. Bawumia to the Lekma Nursing Training College is part of a series of engagements aimed at rallying support for the NPP’s vision for Ghana, underscoring the party’s commitment to maintaining allowances, job placements, and broader development initiatives that benefit the youth and professionals across the country.
