Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NAPO), clashed with Citi TV/FM journalist Umaru Sanda Amadu during an interview after being asked whether he delivered the Ashanti votes for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 elections.
Dr. Prempeh dismissed the question as nonsensical, equating it to asking whether Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s presidential candidate and a northerner, delivered the northern votes.
He argued that voter turnout and party performance are nationwide issues, not regional or tribal ones.
“No matter who you blame, the party has lost. You haven’t brought the Ashanti votes though,” Umaru said, prompting an intense response from NAPO.
The Minister expressed frustration with the narrative, describing it as divisive and unfounded.
He noted that voter turnout in the Ashanti Region, a traditional NPP stronghold, was 65% higher than the national turnout of 60.4%.
He also highlighted that the party’s vote decline in 2024, a loss of 2.1 million votes, was a nationwide phenomenon, not isolated to any one region.
“When I hear somebody say Ashanti didn’t bring votes, I feel like insulting the person. What does that mean? Did the Volta Region bring votes for the NDC? These questions tribalize our politics unnecessarily,” he said.
Dr. Prempeh urged Ghanaians to move away from tribalized political arguments, cautioning that such narratives set a dangerous precedent.
He stressed the importance of analyzing national voter patterns rather than attributing election results to specific regions or ethnic groups.
“The party didn’t choose me because I was Ashanti. Let’s not reduce serious political issues to tribal considerations,” he stated firmly.
In the 2024 Ghanaian general elections, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) achieved a significant victory, with former President John Dramani Mahama securing the presidency.
Mahama garnered 56.55% of the vote, while Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, conceded defeat on December 8, 2024.
The NDC’s triumph extended to parliamentary elections, where they secured a two-thirds majority of the nation’s 276 seats, marking a substantial shift in Ghana’s political landscape.
Voter turnout was 60.9%, a notable decrease from the 79% turnout in the 2020 election, indicating a decline in voter engagement during this electoral cycle.
“Did Bawumia the northerner bring the northern votes? You can’t ask a question that doesn’t make sense.” – NAPO clashes with Citi TV/FM’s Umaru Sanda Amadu after he questioned NAPO about whether he brought the Ashanti votes during an interview. pic.twitter.com/pYg1ql5Ngg
— EDHUB🌍ℹ (@eddie_wrt) January 14, 2025