(Left) Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto receives his nomination form
A former Volta Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kenwuud Nuworsu, has cautioned those who believe the upcoming presidential primaries is a two-horse race between Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen to start revising their notes. This is because Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, a former Minister of Food and Agriculture, would cause an upset in the contest.
“We have been on the ground. It is one thing being on the ground and another being out there making noise. You remember Kufuor’s strategy during the 2000 election. He was underrated because he was not in the full glare of the media. He had gone underground and emerged the winner. That is the same strategy Dr. Afriyie Akoto is also employing,” he stated.
Wherewithal
Interacting with Paul Adom Otchere on the Good Evening Ghana show on Metro TV, Mr Nuworsu, stressed that, as a true patriot of the NPP, Dr. Akoto has the wherewithal to lead the party to victory.
He believes Dr. Akoto is well-positioned to galvanize the grassroots base of the party, bring everybody on board, and present a formidable team to win the 2024 elections.
Mr Nuworsu noted that the UP tradition cannot go into the 2024 general elections with a limping leg and expect to break the 8-year governance cycle the country has been experiencing in the Fourth Republic.
“Besides, his track record has proven that he is the best candidate among the lot to lead the NPP and Ghana. Dr Akoto has done his groundwork; we have assessed his work and in this game, you have to assess yourself, and your strength against your other opponents before you can strike your chest and say I want to go into this contest. And we are in the contest to win”.
Mobilisation
Given his background as the son of the legendary Baffour Akoto, one of the Founding Fathers of the UP tradition, he said Dr. Akoto understands grassroots mobilization.
“He has in the process, toured the length and breadth of the country on countless occasions listening to the concerns of the grassroots to enable him to devise a mechanism to address those concerns. One major challenge he came across during those tours is the lack of employment opportunities for the teeming youth,” he stated.
Having successfully executed the government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs Programme, Mr Nuworsu strongly believes that the former Agric Minister is the ideal candidate who is truly connected with the party and government to address the myriads of challenges confronting the grassroots.
He argued that a vote for Dr. Akoto is a victory for Ghana, noting that “he is the only candidate who could turn the fortunes of the country around using agriculture as the fulcrum to generate more revenue to develop the other sectors of the economy”.
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