Deputy Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has voiced his strong support for Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh as the ideal running mate for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the upcoming 2024 elections.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, has proposed Energy Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, also known as NAPO, as his running mate to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Sources from the presidency informed Channel One News that a meeting was held on Tuesday night where Dr. Bawumia sought advice from President Akufo-Addo regarding his choice of running mate.
It is reported that President Akufo-Addo provided some guidance, shared his views, and eventually endorsed Dr. Bawumia’s selection.
In an interview on ‘Citiuation Room’ on Channel One TV, Mr. Assafuah compared Dr. Opoku Prempeh’s credentials to those of Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the running mate for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He highlighted Dr. Opoku Prempeh’s achievements as Education Minister, including the restoration of teacher trainee allowances and the payment of debts owed to special schools and school feeding programmes.
Assafuah believes Dr. Opoku Prempeh’s track record makes him a better option than Professor Opoku-Agyemang.
“When you juxtapose the credibility in terms of being an educational minister and that of Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang who has also been an educational minister before, one superintended over the cancellation of books and research allowances, one restored it, one superintended the cancellation of teacher trainee allowance, one made sure that that was restored.”
“One superintended over a number of amount of monies that were owed by certain categories of people in terms of special schools, in terms of school feeding and one made sure all these monies were paid. So that’s the ticket Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has.”