NPP must win, use and keep power — Nana Agyemang-Prempeh

The Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh, has said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) must not only look at winning the 2020 general election but how to keep power way beyond the next elections.

He said the essence of winning political power was to use it and keep it for the benefit of the people “so as a party which has the tradition of performing so well in government, we should look at winning power, using power and keeping power.”

Nana Agyemang-Prempeh said this when he addressed the second General Meeting of the University of Ghana chapter of the Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON) of the NPP last Friday evening.

The meeting, held at the dining hall of the Mensah Sarbah Hall, was on the theme: Election 2020, The role of TESCON.”

The NADMO boss, who was the guest speaker at the event, said although the NPP was good at how to use power for the good of the people, it lacked in how to keep power.

“President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo won the election with an overwhelming endorsement of the people of Ghana and he has performed so well to deserve a second term, and it behoves all of us to work hard at holding on to power by delivering a second term and securing the elections from 2020 and beyond,” he told the students.

History

Taking a trip into history, Nana Agyemang-Prempeh, said “our political tradition fought well in the pre-colonial era, it won political power, first with Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia as Prime Minister in 1969 only for the government to be overthrown in a coup in 1972.”

He said in 2001, the NPP with Mr John Agyekum Kufuor as President formed the government but in spite of the implementation of laudable pro-poor policies, the party lost power to the National Democratic Congress in 2008 and had to be in the political wildernesss for eight years before President Akufo-Addo won the 2016 elections with an overwhelming endorsement.

Massive progress

“ Under three years, we have seen phenomenal use of this power in bringing development to the ordinary Ghanaian,” he said

He mentioned the free SHS, the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), restoration of teacher and nursing trainees’ allowances, the Planting for Food and Jobs, one district one factory, one village one dam and other initiatives as testament to the visionary leadership of the President.

TESCON is key

Describing TESCON as a key component of the NPP, Nana Agyemang-Prempeh advised the members to continue to serve the party with loyalty.

TESCON, he noted, had groomed a lot of people for the party and gave the assurance that as long as the party stayed in power, more opportunities would be made available for the members.

Support

The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ayawaso West Wuogon, Madam Lydia Seyram Alhassan, urged the TESCON members to remain committed to the cause of the NPP.

She said the party would give them all the support they needed to deliver on their mandate.