The running mate to the New Patriotic Party flag bearer, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has cautioned nursing and teacher trainees not to fall for what he terms “sweet stories” of the flag bearer of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama.

According to him, John Mahama cancelled the allowances for teachers and nursing trainees but failed to honour the payment of the feeding grants he promised them.

He says such a person cannot be trusted, and therefore the trainees must not fall for his promises of automatic recruitment after school.

Addressing students of Korle Bu Nursing and Midwifery Training College in Accra, Dr. Opoku Prempeh urged the trainees to reject the NDC to protect their allowances.

“I want you all to continue to tell NDC that ‘we prefer the allowance more than your sweet stories’. So if you want your allowance to continue, you have only one option, on December 7, you know what to do,” he said.

He added, “The reason is simple, the one who cancelled the allowance before President Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia government appointed Dr Opoku Prempeh as the Minister of Education and restored the allowance, that person is saying that he cancelled the allowance because he wanted to build hospitals.

“Have we finished building hospitals in Ghana?” he asked.

A political activist, Dr Arthur Kennedy, has asked supporters of the Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the running mate to the New Patriotic Party’s presidential candidate in the 2024 elections to acknowledge his shortcomings and faults.

According to him, attempting to downplay the public’s concerns is not the prudent route.

Since NPP’s Presidential Candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia selected Dr Prempeh as his running mate, a section of Ghanaians have raised concerns about his attitude with many accusing him of being arrogant.

A popular remark referenced is when he challenged individuals advocating for the issuance of a load-shedding timetable to publish their own proposed schedules amid the power crisis earlier this year.

Another was his statement in 2021 in which he threatened to lead a demonstration in the Ashanti Region should the Keta Sea Defence Project be captured in the 2022 Budget.

Nonetheless, some supporters of NPP have downplayed the accusation of arrogance and touted Dr Prempeh as a blunt individual.

Contributing to the topic, “Napo for 2024 Veep Job: Why the ‘Arrogance’ Tag?’ on Joy FM’s Newsfile, Dr Kennedy believed that the Energy Minister’s remarks were out of place and shouldn’t be whitewashed.

He noted that Dr Prempeh’s tag of arrogance, echoes sentiments from past incidents.

“Napo shouldn’t have made the remark that he made both in relation to the dumsor timetable and the Keta Sea Defence Project. I am very sure that knowing Napo, in his quiet moments he would wish he had those words back,” he said on Saturday.

On the back of this, Dr Kennedy emphasised the importance of recognising these criticisms and urged the Energy Minister’s supporters to acknowledge the validity of the concerns.

“Those who want to support him must not try and pretend that those who are making these charges that he is arrogant are ignorant.

“We are all complex people and we all have faults. Those are some of Napo’s faults, but he has his strengths,” he told host Samson Lardy Anyenini.

Dr Kennedy also advised that the NPP balance their approach in promoting the newly-named running mate.

“I think that those who promote him must not only tell us of his strengths but acknowledge that some of these things that he has said and done were not done the best way possible and that they would counsel him to do better,” he noted.

The Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has expressed strong disapproval of recent comments made by the Asante Akim North MP, Andy Appiah-Kubi, regarding the choice of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s potential running mate, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh.

Addressing the issue, Mr Afenyo-Markin emphasised the importance of respecting party rules and maintaining decorum in intra-party discourse.

“We should all respect party rules. You cannot go out of your way to describe your colleague in an unacceptable manner.

“We are in this together. There is no perfect person in this world. Let us be measured in the language we use,” he said.

Mr Afrenyo-Markin’s caution comes after controversial statements by Mr Appiah Kubi, which have stirred internal party tensions.

According to the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asante Akim North, the Energy Minister, Dr Opoku Prempeh is not acceptable to the entirety of the NPP base, particularly MPs.

He added that the Energy Minister cannot campaign effectively in many constituencies.

“I would want somebody who would be open with the people on the ground, who would be able to deliver the votes, who would submit to the presidency, and who would be important in bringing Parliament closer to the executive,” he said.

Nonetheless, Mr Afenyo-Markin underscored the need for unity and mutual respect within the party ranks, highlighting that disparaging remarks about fellow party members are counterproductive.

He further reiterated his confidence in the party’s leadership and decision-making processes, particularly in the context of selecting a running mate.

“The flagbearer, Dr Bawumia, has the confidence of the party and I believe he will use the structures of the party in making his decisions,” he affirmed.

The Energy Ministry has dismissed claims by social media commentator, Kevin Taylor regarding a contract involving Tullow, Kosmos, GNPC and Petro SA.

Mr Taylor is said to have accused the Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) 2024 of siphoning an amount of $150m in the said transaction.

But the Ministry has described the allegations as “spurious and unfounded.”

Reacting to this accusation in a statement, the Minister’s Combinations Specialist Kofi Abrefa Afena said the Energy Ministry is not responsible for the signing and approval of contracts in the upstream petroleum space.

On the back of this, Mr Afena said the signing and approval of the said contract will not require the approval of the Ministry.

He therefore asked the public “to ignore these false claims and treat them with the total contempt they deserve.”

The Communications Specialist also hinted at Dr. Prempeh seeking legal redress.

“On the plain reputational onslaught, the said Kevin Taylor mounts on Dr. Prempeh, specifically impugning criminality on him; the Minister’s legal team will resort to the necessary legal remedy in due course.”

Read full statement below:

The Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Permpeh, has entreated Ghanaians to exercise patience as the government is investing financial resources towards the upgrading of the power operating system in the country.

This, he said, would ensure efficient and reliable power supply to both domestic and commercial power consumers to improve their businesses.

Dr. Opoku Prempeh gave the assurance when he led a delegation, comprising officials from the Millennium Development Authority, Electricity Company of Ghana, and Volta River Authority, to inspect the Kasoa Bulk Supply Point, on Tuesday.

The country in recent months has witnessed frequent power cuts, especially in parts of the national capital, Accra, resulting in public outcry.

A section of the public has accused the government of not telling Ghanaians the truth about the power situation and suspected that government has no money to buy fuel for the power plants.

It is in this light that the Energy Minister, over the past two weeks, had been touring some power projects being undertaken by the government to ending the power outages.

The Kasoa BSP is 435 MVA, which is about 50 percent complete, and expected to improve power supply to Winneba, Mallam, and parts of the Greater Accra and Central regions.

The project is being implemented by the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), under the Ghana Power Compact Two and falls under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which the US government provided US$308 million to the government of Ghana, to improve its energy needs and curb power transmission losses.

Mr. Matin Esson Benjamin, the Chief Executive Officer of MiDA said the Kasoa BSP was being constructed by Semens Engineering at a cost of US$50 million and expected to be completed in August, this year.

He said the construction of the Kasoa BSP was timely, as it would improve power supply to residents of Mallam, Kasoa, Winneba among others, and would benefit about 300, 000 residents in parts of the Greater Accra and Central regions.