‘NPP will not hand over power to NDC’ – Bryan Acheampong affirms

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Abetifi Constituency, Bryan Acheampong has reiterated a statement made last year that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would not win the 2024 general elections.

He stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) would therefore not transfer power to the NDC.

“Last year I stood here in Mpraeso and said that whether NDC likes it or not they will never win the December 7 polls and therefore the NPP will not hand over power to them because they cannot win the elections. If you cannot win elections why do you want power to be given to you at all cost. “As at that time I made the statements Ghana was confronted with economic challenges which made it difficult for contractors to do their work, unable to continue agenda 111 projects among others”,  Mr Acheampong stated.

Mr. Acheampong, who also serves as the Minister of Agriculture, made these remarks following a unity walk organized by the party to mark this year’s Kwahu Easter celebrations in Mpraeso, Kwahu South Municipality, Eastern Region. The unity walk was part of the NPP’s activities to observe this year’s Kwahu Easter festivities.

According to the Abetifi MP, the NDC would never emerge victorious in the December 7 polls, regardless of their desires. He questioned why a party that cannot win elections would seek power at all costs.

Mr Acheampong pointed out that when he made similar statements last year, Ghana was facing economic challenges, including difficulties for contractors to execute projects like Agenda 111 due to economic strains caused by factors like COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war.

Despite these challenges, Mr Acheampong asserted that the NPP had implemented stringent measures to revive the economy, leading to positive results such as a drop in the dollar rate and improvements in inflation rates. He expressed confidence that these economic improvements would resonate with voters, ensuring the NPP’s victory in the 2024 elections.

Mr. Acheampong concluded by stating that with the current positive indicators, the NPP was poised to win the upcoming elections decisively.

Reaction to previous comments last year

Mr Acheampong was condemned by the NDC for his comments last year, with the opposition party urging the Police to act on the matter.

“As the political tradition that ushered in our nation’s stable constitutional order, the NDC will do whatever it takes to resist the misrule and machination of the oppressor and thus protect and preserve our democracy,” the party said in a statement signed and issued by its General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey.

“We urge the Ghana Police Service to act with dispatch in this matter. We recall the alacrity with which it recently apprehended and charged the Suame Constituency Youth Organiser of the NDC for expressing views that were deemed to be inciteful,” it said.

“No one is in any doubt that the statement of Bryan Acheampong is even more incendiary and subversive. We, therefore, expect the same level of speedy action from the Ghana Police Service in arresting Acheampong and bringing him to book,” it said.

However, a statement signed and issued by the General Secretary of the NPP, Justin  Frimpong Kodua, described the NDC’s statement as one that “lacked contextual substance for the consumption of discerning Ghanaians”.

“The NPP considers the NDC’s attack on Bryan Acheampong not only unwarranted but also attention seeking with an ill attempt to emotionally blackmail Ghanaians to court their support,” it said.