Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, popularly known as ‘Napo,’ has issued a strong warning to voters in the Ashanti Region, urging them not to cast their ballots for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the upcoming elections. According to him, the NDC lacks genuine commitment to the development of the Ashanti Region, and voting for the party would be tantamount to wasting one’s vote.
“We vote in elections for development,” Dr. Prempeh said during a rally in Tweapeasi, within the Odotobiri Constituency, on Tuesday. “If you cast your vote for a political party that does not prioritize your progress, then you have wasted that vote.”
As the Vice Presidential Candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Napo emphasized that the NPP has always been committed to the region’s growth, contrasting this with what he described as the neglect shown by the NDC. He urged voters in the Ashanti Region to stand firm in supporting the NPP, a party he believes has the best interests of the region at heart.
Dr. Prempeh was particularly critical of the NDC’s history in the region, accusing them of taking the Ashanti Region for granted despite the significant number of votes they have received in past elections. He expressed his frustration with the party’s discriminatory attitude towards the people of Ashanti, citing numerous instances where the region was allegedly sidelined whenever the NDC was in power.
“The number of votes that the NDC obtains from the Ashanti Region during elections is very huge, yet the NDC still considers Ashanti as a region that doesn’t support them,” he remarked. “The progress of the country, notably the Ashanti Region, always comes to a standstill whenever the NDC occupies the seat of government, and I think it’s deliberate.”
Napo went on to explain that the neglect shown by the NDC has not only stalled development in the region but has also introduced policies that he believes were designed to punish the people of the Ashanti Region.
One key example he cited was the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which was introduced by former President John Kufuor’s NPP administration to improve healthcare access for Ghanaians. Dr. Prempeh accused the NDC of deliberately undermining the scheme when they came into power by introducing the capitation policy exclusively in the Ashanti Region, which he claims created undue hardship for the people.
“But immediately the NDC assumed the mantle of leadership, they fiendishly introduced capitation for NHIS only in the Ashanti Region just to create hardship for the innocent people,” Dr. Prempeh stated. “This is deliberate because clearly you can see that the NDC and their leaders have something against the people of the Ashanti Region. We should, therefore, reject the NDC on December 7.”
He further criticized former President John Mahama, who he said has publicly made derogatory remarks about the people of the Ashanti Region. Dr. Prempeh referenced a past comment by Mahama, where he allegedly stated that even if the government constructed roads in the region with gold, the people of Ashanti would never appreciate it. Napo found this statement to be indicative of the NDC’s disregard for the region and its people.
“John Mahama, after discriminating against this region, turned around and said, ‘As for the people in the Ashanti Region, even if you construct their roads with gold, they will never appreciate,’” Dr. Prempeh said, expressing disappointment at what he described as an insulting attitude towards the region.
In his rally speech, Dr. Prempeh sought to convince voters that supporting the NDC would lead to more of the same neglect and discrimination, urging them not to waste their votes on a party that he believes has failed to prioritize their needs.
He argued that all evidence points to the fact that the NDC, and specifically John Mahama, does not have the Ashanti Region in their plans. As such, he appealed to voters to rally behind the NPP, a party he insists has consistently championed development in the region.
“The NDC is not committed to the proper development of the Ashanti Region,” Napo declared. He urged voters to reject the NDC in the upcoming elections to avoid further setbacks in the region’s progress. According to him, the Ashanti Region deserves a government that will treat its people with fairness and respect, not one that takes them for granted and discriminates against them when in power.
Dr. Prempeh’s remarks come at a crucial time as political campaigns intensify ahead of the December 7 elections. The Ashanti Region has long been regarded as a stronghold for the NPP, but Napo’s warning suggests that the party is leaving nothing to chance, particularly given the competitive nature of this year’s elections.
His message underscores the NPP’s strategy of reminding voters in the region of what he claims are the NDC’s failures and the NPP’s achievements.
As the election draws closer, Dr. Prempeh’s call for voters to reject the NDC will likely resonate with those who feel that the region has been overlooked by previous administrations.
Whether or not this appeal will translate into votes remains to be seen, but for Napo and the NPP, the stakes in the Ashanti Region have never been higher.
