Ing. Kwabena Agyepong, a flagbearer hopeful for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said claims the party is clamouring for support for one aspirant is propaganda.
According to Kwabena Agyepong, the NPP can present dancehall king Shatta Wale, because he is popular.
Kwabena Agyepong further highlighted that the street cannot decide who to lead the New Patriotic Party, but rather the party members.
He explained that the NPP needs to choose and sell its candidate to Ghanaians.
Speaking on Kumasi-based Pure Fm, Kwabena Agyepong stated, “They say mechanics and market women say we should bring one candidate, but that should not be the case. The party is ours, and so the party will choose their candidate, and afterwards, the party will market its candidate. They say we should bring the one Ghanaians are clamouring for, but how did you know this is the one Ghanaians are clamouring for?”
“We are a political party; there is something called leadership. The five of us have to contest, and after contesting, we will go to the people of Ghana with the candidate we have chosen and sell his strengths to the people”.
“There is propaganda that the streets want one candidate, and if that’s the case, then there is no leadership. If that is the case, then we should go and bring Shatta Wale because he’s the popular one and has the numbers,” he stated.
Meanwhile, John Boadu, the former NPP General Secretary and now National Chairman hopeful, has said that if possible, he will get Ghanaian dancehall king Shatta Wale to join the party.
According to John Boadu, the NPP’s future will depend on how they connect with the youth.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, John Boadu stated, “I know how to deal with these young guys, selling our messages, and making our message not too hard, as soft as they want, we’ll be able to get to them,” he said.
“By the year 2028, ages between 18 to around 36 to 40 will be about 60% of the voters. The solution is to get into their arena and deal with them”.
When asked if he is going to get Shatta Wale to join the NPP, John Boadu responded, “If possible, why not, and campaign for you? Not necessarily a hard campaign, but passing through this high content”
However, he was reminded that the NPP ahead of the 2024 elections engaged King Paluta, yet suffered a humiliating defeat.
He noted, “You need to do more of that by nurturing these youthful people. I am saying it is not even necessary to have them at your rallies”
“You need to meet them where they are. You need to be able to tap them with their interest and not necessarily bring them on your political platforms, and it is important that we look at that.”
He further argued that the NDC is now having a growing influence of young academics.
John Boadu added, “You can now see that academia, for instance, looks like the NDC is having a lot of them as we speak now. Many of these people don’t need so much”.
“It’s not about an appointment. Many of them just need recognition. Many of them need that touch, that belonging touch of the party to be able to get because many of them want to be seen as the ones who are even reviewing your programs, reviewing your policies”, John Boadu noted.
He further praised Shatta Wale for his massive influence among Ghanaian youth citing, “The crowd Shatta Wale pulled for his birthday concert, no political party can achieve that”.