Some members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region are up in arms against the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, popularly known in political circles as Napo, and who doubles as the Minister for Energy, over his recent comments at Kumawu where he made a statements to the effect that people in the Ashanti Region do not really need development and that all that they need are party paraphernalia, particularly party T-shirts.

Speaking under the umbrella of an emerging NPP group that is soon to be out-doored in the Ashanti Region with the name, “NPP Activists for Development,” the leader of the group, Kwabena Opoku Agyemang, flanked by his two deputies, Ernest K. Youngman, and Kakra Owusu, lamented the fact that Napo has allowed his inexperience to lead him and that he must learn to act maturely both in words and actions, particularly any time he mounts political platforms.

“A person of his caliber and stature must not speak like that. This is someone we thought was positioning himself well for a vice presidential position in the near future, but to make this derogatory remark publicly against your people in the name of politics is shameful and unacceptable, and we condemn such anti-party comments in no uncertain terms.

“The NPP is known for development, and this is evident all around us. We expected Napo to have campaigned about the big development and transformational changes our party has brought to the Ashanti Region under both President Kufuor’s eight-year regime and the current regime under President Akufo-Addo, but he chose to speak so naively and we are very disappointed in him. How can he lead the Ashanti Region with such anti-party comments and mentality?” they queried.

It will be recalled that on a campaign platform at Kumawu in the run-up to the bye-elections, Napo was captured in a viral video addressing party supporters during which he told them not to worry about development and that because the Ashanti Region is a stronghold of the NPP and since they would continue to vote for the NPP, all that they needed were party paraphernalia, particularly the NPP party’s T-shirts.



In that rather interesting twist to events leading up to the just-ended bye-election in Kumawu, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh made his shocking statement that the party would win the bye-election in Kumawu and subsequent ones using just party t-shirts without campaigning for votes.

"If we cannot organize campaign rallies, let's use our money to print T-shirts and distribute to our party faithful and everyone - after all, our NPP T-shirts are beautiful and I don't think anybody will be wearing them and go and vote for another party," he stated.

The Kumawu bye-election became necessary following the demise of the Member of Parliament for the area - the late Philip Attah Bassoah, leaving the seat vacant.

The two main political parties, the NPP and the NDC, campaigned fiercely for the seat, but the NPP retained it after its candidate won massively in a landslide victory after the polls.