Musician Mzbel has said the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), to which she belongs, does not have enough resources to finance celebrity endorsements.
She also told Nana Romeo on Accra100.5FM’s mid-morning show ‘Ayekoo Ayekoo’ on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, that the NDC will not pay any celebrity to campaign for it, adding that the party is rather interested in getting committed people who believe in its vision and not just do it for the money.
“We don’t have money, so, where the resources are, is where everyone runs to. That is how it has become. When you’re in opposition, how do you have money?” she said.
“But honestly”, she added, “even if NDC has money, one thing I have realised is that they don’t pay people to support the party; they want you to support the party because you believe in the party so that when you sit somewhere and talk about issues in the party, you speak the truth not because you’ve been paid to do so”.
“So, the party doesn’t give money but if you bring something on board, you will be supported,” she added.
The ‘16 years’ hitmaker noted that celebrity endorsement is a business venture.
According to her, political parties pick celebrities based on their value and brand, which they leverage for political advantage.
“They know what they’ve seen in those celebrities that they’ve involved in the political parties. And for all you know, some of them are truly NPP supporters”, she said.
“I am an NDC supporter, so, if you haven’t paid me to support the NPP, it won’t work. So, they won’t come and pay me for anything because they know I will spend it and they might not get the desired results. It is a business venture,” Mzbel said.
Celebrity endorsement remains one of the critical areas in every election year.
Through their music, utterances, or actions, they communicate political messages leaning to certain political directions capable of influencing voters’ decisions.
Musician Samini officially endorsed President Nana Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Monday, 2 November with an announcement on social media and a song titled,’Kpoyaka’.
Rapper Sarkodie has also put out a song titled ‘Happy Day’, with some of its lyrics endorsing President Akufo-Addo.