A pro-NPP group, Walewale Youth Warriors, has made a passionate appeal to the Overlord of the Mamprugu Paramountcy, to prevail upon the Vice President and Flagbearer of the party, Alhaji Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, not to consider the Minister of Energy and MP for Manhyia South, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, for the running mate slot.

The group argues that the character, demeanour and personality of the energy minister are at variance with the values espoused by the leadership of Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia and the ruling New Patriotic Party.

According to the pressure group, any attempt to select Dr Napo will pose serious dangers to the chances of the NPP Breaking The 8 and Dr Bawumia making history by being the first northern president under the great elephant family.

The call by the group comes at the heels of a recent comment by the energy minister during an interview with journalists in Kumasi at the sidelines of the Ashanti Regional NPP Campaign launch held over the weekend at the KNUST.

Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh has come under a barrage of criticisms from a cross-section of the public following what is described as an insensitive comment in an answer to a question posed by a journalist about the recent power challenges and whether the government was considering a load-shedding programme.

According to the northern-based NPP group, the energy minister's action was a clear demonstration of leadership failure, having capitulated at the least provocation.

"This attitude, certainly cannot inure to the benefit of the electoral fortunes of our dear party, the Vice President is trying hard to win the hearts of many Ghanaians having outlined all the fantastic vision and programmes but people like Dr. Napo are making the work very difficult for him. Such a character can never be an effective running mate," the group argued

They are, therefore, appealing to the venerable Overlord of the Mamprugu Traditional Area, Naa Bohaga Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, to intervene by prevailing upon the vice president to rescind any potential move to consider Dr. Napo for the running slot.

"We have no problem at all with selecting an Akan or an Asante but certainly not this Energy Minister, his actions are at variance with the Presidential Candidate, he will not add anything but a liability to our cause to Breaking the 8," they warned.