New Patriotic Party lacks strong candidates for 2024 election - Prof Kobby Mensah

A noted political marketing strategist, Prof. Kobby Mensah, has voiced concerns about the governing New Patriotic Party's (NPP) choice of candidates for the 2024 elections, citing the underperformance of two out of the four contenders during their time in the current government.

In an interview on JoyNews' PM Express, Prof. Mensah questioned the suitability of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, both vying to represent the NPP in the upcoming 2024 general election.

He asserted that their political images had been tarnished due to their lackluster performances in their respective roles.

Prof. Mensah, renowned for his insights into political strategies, expressed doubts about the candidates' abilities to effectively lead the nation and suggested that the NPP was presenting "very weak candidates" for the first time.

One of his key concerns was the state of economic management under Dr. Bawumia's leadership on the Economic Management Team.

"Economic management has been in shambles, and I’m surprised that they are trying to tout Dr. Bawumia’s credentials," he remarked, a report by myjoyonline.com said.

Furthermore, Prof. Mensah criticized Dr. Bawumia for his apparent silence on economic matters since the country's financial crisis began, stating, "I have never heard him [Dr. Bawumia] speak about the economy since the economy started plummeting.

"Let us be frank; whenever they have spoken, they’ve attributed our economic woes to Ukraine and COVID-19, but everybody knows that they have mismanaged the economy."

Delegates of the NPP will decide between four candidates: Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Kennedy Agyapong, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and Francis Addai-Nimoh, who will become their next flagbearer on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

NAY/AE