General News of Friday, 9 December 2016

Source: 3news.com

I realised I’ll lose during my campaign - JOY

Jacob Osei Yeboah Jacob Osei Yeboah

The only independent presidential candidate in the 2012 presidential election, Jacob Osei Yeboah (JOY) has conceded that he knew he was fighting a lose battle ahead of the Wednesday’s polls.

Mr. Yeboah said he got wind of his impending defeat during the campaign season.

He, however, could not stop campaigning or withdraw from the election because he invested so much and preparing the grounds for the 2012 elections, he told TV3’ Kwabena Adu Gyamfi on Friday.

His confession does not come across as a surprise being one of the five presidential candidates to concede defeat immediately the results started coming in. He congratulated Nana Akufo-Addo who had been projected by 3news.com and other media houses to win on Thursday.

“I realised people were not ready for me…during the campaign,” he said.

He explained that when he was campaigning, anytime he puts up his posters, they get removed the following day. That move, he said, gave him confidence that he remains a “strong force” in Ghana’s elections.

Jacob Osei Yeboah said his campaign was hampered by the lack of resources. “We are limited in a number of ways to get to the people,” he said, adding that he sometimes have to rely on phone calls to get people to campaign for him, especially in the northern part of Ghana.

In a related development, President John Mahama has called Nana Akufo-Addo to concede defeat and congratulate him for winning the 2016 presidential election.