Matthew Opoku-Prempeh
ENERGY MINISTER, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh aka ‘Napo’, is the proud recipient of two different prestigious awards for his unique and significant contributions towards accelerated national development.
He was first honoured in Accra, where the Ghana Union of Professional Students (GUPS) conferred the enviable ‘The Most Innovative Minister of the Decade’ award on him at the Teachers Hall on Friday evening.
Just 24 hours later, the ‘Educational Icon of Ashanti’ award was also presented to him at the maiden Ashanti APEC Excellence Awards, held at the Great Hall, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on Saturday.
A citation presented to Napo at the event in Kumasi, highlighted his (Napo’s) important works during his four-year reign as Minister of Education, where he successfully supervised the implementation of the famous Free Senior High School (FSHS) programme.
Significantly, APEC is made up of members of the Executive Committee of the Association of Past Executives and Coordinators of the Ashanti Regional Students Representative Council (SRC).
Napo within a short period has received remarkable awards both on the local and international stage.
Receiving the ‘The Most Innovative Minister of the Decade’ award in Accra, the Energy Minister stated that he is in politics mainly to contribute to make positive changes in the lives of the people.
“I have stated over the years that in my public service as a minister under President Akufo-Addo, I have always believed in providing the right leadership in order to help make the lives of our people better,” he said.
Napo said it was important to “provide the necessary leadership in delivering our mandate as a government, which means broad consultation, careful consideration of all options and innovative thinking to surmount our challenges.”
Receiving the ‘Educational Icon of Ashanti’ award in Kumasi, the Energy Minister, who is also the MP for Manhyia South Constituency, described the youth as the greatest asset of the country.
Napo stressed that the country ought to give the youth the needed support and motivation so that they could have a better and prosperous future.
He cautioned the youth against the exhibition of jealousy of the successes of their peers, shun immoral lifestyles and concentrate fully on their education so that they would grow to become influential people.
Touching on leadership, Napo said being a leader of a society or a country is a daunting task, which requires unique expertise, so he encouraged the youth to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills that would make their life beneficial to others.
Napo was accompanied by his mother, siblings, friends and loved ones, as well as some staff of the Energy Ministry and Manhyia South New Patriotic Party (NPP) executives when he received the two different top awards.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi