Akufo-Addo didn’t call the bluff of the people of Kwabre – Presidency

The Director of Communication at the Jubilee House has said comments made by President Akufo-Addo with regards to the people of Kwabre were taken out of context. According to Eugene Arhin, the president did not call the bluff of the people but rather stated that he is focused on fulfilling his promises. "I don't think the President was calling anybody's bluff. The host asked him a particular question and the response the President gave was to what the host was saying. "Indeed, if you look at the package of road construction that is currently going on in the Kwabre and the Manso areas, I mean, what the President stated in his response was that I don't think anybody threatening that, 'I will not vote for him' should be something that he should be worried about,” Eugene Arhin is said to have stated during a presser at the Jubilee House. President Akufo-Addo, during an interview said he is unmoved by threats to vote out the new Patriotic Party. According to the president, threats of voting against him or the NPP due to unfulfilled promises or lack of development under his tenure, especially, is a personal decision which he cannot be bothered about. The president was reacting to a message sent into the radio programme by a listener who stated that residents of Kwabre and Manso would vote against the NPP if President Akufo-Addo’s government failed to construct their roads. The message, as read by the host of the programme, Captain Koda, stated that the residents of the area, being a stronghold of the NPP, voted massively for President Akufo-Addo. “Our plea through you (roads minister) to the Mr President is that when you look at the voting pattern, residents of Kwabre voted massively for Nana. They said I should tell the president that they will be pained if you don’t construct their roads for them in 2024; they will vote against the NPP,” the host, sending the message through the Minister for Roads and Transport, Kwasi Amoako Atta, who was in the studio with the president, said. However, after several backlashes from Ghanaians with regards to the president’s response, Eugene Arhin said the president meant that he has no control over who a citizen decides to vote for even though he is focused on fulfilling his promises. “At the end of the day, his focus is to make sure that he delivers. Once he delivers and the road infrastructure is there and you still decide to go and vote for another party, that is your problem," Eugene noted. He continued, "What he did indicate in that interview was that, work is ongoing in all parts of the country. There is no way we can construct all roads at the same time. It is not possible, looking at the national purse. So, if people, as per what the host was saying, will not be patient and wait for their time, that is fine, but he did not call anybody's bluff,” the chronicle quoted Eugene Arhin as having said. NYA/WA