NAPO never said Ashantis only needed NPP T-shirts to vote for NPP - Spokesperson

A spokesperson for Energy Minister 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.

Mr. Afena further clarified, “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.”

This harmless statement, Mr. Abrefa noted, has been deliberately distorted by the Minister’s detractors for reasons best known to them.

He also debunked a new twist to this story in which some people claiming to be members of the NPP are said to be angry over the same comments. They allege that Dr. Prempeh commented in Kumawu.

“How can Ashanti NPP be angry over a non-existent statement? Napo made no such statement in Kumawu. The grand scheme by faceless elements aimed at causing disaffection for the Energy Minister has failed ab initio! Napo remains focused on his positive contributions to the government, the party, and the whole country. I did some checks; the people claiming to be angry are not NPP members.

They have only been hired to carry out a job of interest,” he wondered.

He stressed that the Minister will not be distracted by sordid attempts at tarnishing his image in the eyes of the people of the Ashanti region, adding that the Minister has earned accolades as the shining star of the region in the current government and the NPP through hard work and acts of kindness.