The member of Parliament for Kwadaso Constituency, Professor Kingsley Nyarko has charged private legal practitioner, Maurice Ampaw to apologize for wrongly criticizing energy minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh over his comments that the New Patriotic Party can win Ashanti Region by distributing only t-shirts.

Professor Nyarko claimed that Opoku Premeh made the statement prior to the 2020 general election during the COVID-19 era when there were restrictions on campaigns.

The MP explained that the minister suggested sharing NPP T-shirts as means of the campaign due to COVID-19 restrictions.

"That Maurice Ampaw statement hurt me...This is something NAPO said in 2020 prior to the elections. It was during the COVID-19 period that the Minister said if we can't go and campaign in households, let's give them T-Shirts, NPP T-shirts. Because with the T-shirts people will vote for us," he told Oyerepa FM.

"Then Maurice Ampaw, a lawyer of his caliber, you don't do background checks, you don't look for information but come to say what NAPO said is nonsensical and disrespectful," he added.

He emphasized that the minister made the statement three years ago while clarifying that Opoku Prempreh did not state that 'Ashantis did not need development'

"I'm saying that Maurice Ampaw duped the group because that statement NAPO made was in 2020 and it was during COVID time that you couldn't visit households and you couldn't campaign because there were restrictions. That is why I am saying that Maurice Ampaw should have looked for the background and when NAPO said that. It was not at Kumawu and NAPO didn't say that Ashantis that not need development. The viral video claims that NAPO said Ashantis did not need development and that only T-shirts can win the election. NAPO didn't say that.

"The point I'm making is that, Maurice Ampau got it wrong and he has to come and apologise. Because he got it wrong. If you are a public figure and there is an issue, you need to do your research well else you will disgrace yourself."

Maurice Ampaw made his statement on Wontumi TV on May 28, 2023, where he opined that the minister's statement was "nonsense", adding that his chances of becoming a vice president had been damaged by his ill-advised statement.

"For you to come and say that Ashanti people only like T-shirts, what do you mean? They don't like development. What kind of nonsense is that, what kind of nonsense is that Napo... for you Napo, your vice president issue has been dismissed, go and sit somewhere,” he exclaimed.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Kofi Abrefa Afena, has appealed to the general public to ignore deliberate distortions of Dr. Prempeh’s comment on the need to distribute New Patriotic Party (NPP) branded T-shirts to voters in the Ashanti Region during the 2020 electioneering campaign.

He explained that the statement of Dr. Prempeh had been maliciously taken out of context by his detractors to make it look like Dr. Prempeh took the voters for granted.

“Dr. Prempeh said the NPP is an attractive party. Therefore, if COVID restrictions would not allow for mass rallies, it was only wise to use the available resources for retail campaigning and printing NPP T-shirts. Dr. Prempeh continued that Ghanaians naturally love the NPP; therefore, T-shirts in the wake of the restrictions would make the people feel part and parcel of the campaign.”

EE/KPE