Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh
The Majority Caucus in Parliament last Friday gave their full support to Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the MP for Manhyia South and Minister of Energy, as the running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
This follows a closed-door meeting between Dr. Bawumia and members of the Majority Caucus in Parliament last Friday to brief them on his running mate pick for the December 7 election.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that at the meeting, the Vice President said that he had chosen Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the MP for Manhyia South and Minister of Energy, and called for support.
The NPP flagbearer also held extensive discussions with party MPs about the party’s strategy for the 2024 elections.
Alexander Afenyo-Markin, Majority Leader, confirmed the meeting on Accra-based Citi FM, expressing the caucus’ full support for Dr. Bawumia’s selected running mate.
“Yes, the leader of our party and flagbearer met with the leadership of Parliament and had an extensive engagement with us, regarding the way forward for the party going into the 2024 elections.
“And then, the conclusion was that our respected colleague, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, is his choice for running mate,” he stated.
He added that the announcement to the party MPs was normal practice, pointing out, “And out of respect, the caucus would have to be informed and engaged about the decision.”
“After, I proceeded and engaged the caucus, and so far, the feedback has been positive. That the generality of the caucus members is in support of his choice,” the Majority Leader disclosed.
According to him, what is left is the official announcement which will be made after a meeting by members of the National Council of the NPP.
“From what he tells us, it appears that there’s going to be a general consensus on that, and that will be no problem. We also enquired from him the views of the President on it, and it was very positive,” Mr. Afenyo-Markin said.
For him, this means that the various organs of the party had been engaged on the decision and that all is set for Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh aka Napo to be announced officially as the running mate of Dr. Bawumia for the 2024 elections.
The Effutu MP urged members of the caucus to rally behind the Minister of Energy, cautioning his colleagues to be circumspect with their public utterances on the choice of Napo.
He argued that any negative comments could be misconstrued by opponents and detractors to harm the NPP’s chances of securing victory in the upcoming general election
“I would strongly make this case that we’re in this together. None is perfect in this whole game. We may have our differences.
“And once a decision is made, it is made and we must all rally behind him and make sure that we do the right thing,” he admonished.
By Ernest Kofi Adu