NPP Presidential Primary was a state Choreographed election - Dr Ayamga | AM Show - video Dailymotion

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Transcript

00:00:00 Welcome to a brand new week on The AM Show.

00:00:03 Good morning, thank you so much for joining us

00:00:05 right here in the studios of Join News.

00:00:08 I'll tell you what, as we kickstart the day,

00:00:10 this morning coming to work I was listening

00:00:12 to Perez Music's famous track, "Mi Bubaje,"

00:00:16 and it just encouraged me.

00:00:18 So I searched First Chronicles four verse 10,

00:00:20 and that's my prayer for you this week.

00:00:22 As Jabez prayed, "Lord, enlarge my territory.

00:00:26 "Let your hand be with me.

00:00:28 "Prosper me in everything I do."

00:00:31 And that's my prayer for you this morning,

00:00:32 that the Lord will enlarge your territory, your coast,

00:00:35 that whatever you touch, you will have that Midas touch.

00:00:38 It will turn to gold, and that the positives

00:00:41 you are hoping to achieve this week,

00:00:42 with God's grace, you will achieve them.

00:00:45 That's my prayer for you, and if I heard an amen,

00:00:47 then you have received that prayer.

00:00:49 My name is Benjamin Akaku, thank you for joining.

00:00:51 Now coming up this morning,

00:00:52 I'll be serving you the news shortly,

00:00:54 and right after that, guess who joins us?

00:00:56 Spokesperson on governance and security

00:00:58 for this administration, Paul Grave.

00:01:00 Boachir Dankwa is our guest.

00:01:02 This will be followed by sports with Muftau Nabila Abdullahi.

00:01:06 And then from there, we get into our big stories.

00:01:09 Number one on the chopping block, of course, you know.

00:01:11 We'll be heading into the presidential primary of the MPP,

00:01:16 which took place last Saturday,

00:01:19 and of course, Vice President Dr. Mahmoud Obaomia

00:01:22 emerged winner of that election,

00:01:24 with over 61% of the votes.

00:01:27 Now, he succeeds President Nkufuadu,

00:01:30 who can't compete again, having had two terms of office.

00:01:33 Today, we'll be discussing that issue

00:01:35 about what this represents.

00:01:37 Is the MPP capable of breaking the eight?

00:01:41 Joining us for that conversation, Professor Corby Mensah.

00:01:43 He's a political marketing consultant

00:01:44 at the University of Ghana Business School.

00:01:46 Dr. Michael Ayamga is a development economist

00:01:49 and senior lecturer at the University

00:01:51 for Development Studies in Tamale.

00:01:53 They both join us on that beat.

00:01:57 When it comes to our citizens microphone this morning,

00:02:00 we'll be heading to Kumasi as we gauge the mood

00:02:02 in these regions following Dr. Baomia's victory.

00:02:05 Now, he was expected to get many more votes

00:02:07 and the Ashanti region stunned in some areas.

00:02:10 So, we'll be getting their views

00:02:12 on how they think things went

00:02:14 and what this means for the party come election 2024.

00:02:18 On the final belt of the show,

00:02:20 we're going to be contemplating

00:02:22 the spillage of the Volta River,

00:02:24 what it has meant for those along those communities,

00:02:26 what the latest updates are.

00:02:28 We'll bring you all of that on the show this morning.

00:02:30 Don't you forget, get interactive with us.

00:02:32 Let's know what you're thinking about the show

00:02:34 and the matters we have lined up.

00:02:36 Share your thoughts with us via the live stream.

00:02:38 And when we activate the phone lines

00:02:40 at the end of the show,

00:02:41 be one of those to take advantage and give us a call.

00:02:45 On that note, we settle for the news

00:02:47 on the A.M. Show up next.

00:02:48 (upbeat music)

00:02:52 (upbeat music)

00:02:55 Time now for the A.M. News.

00:03:15 Thank you for staying.

00:03:16 In our first story,

00:03:18 some delegates of the new patriotic party

00:03:20 in the Ashanti region couldn't vote

00:03:22 in the just ended presidential primary

00:03:24 due to challenges with the voters register.

00:03:27 Now, though some of the anomalies

00:03:29 were detected two weeks earlier,

00:03:30 efforts to rectify them yielded little results.

00:03:34 Nanaia Ojima coned some polling stations

00:03:36 and filed this report.

00:03:38 - Delegates in the Asoka constituency

00:03:43 were first to sound the alarm of missing names

00:03:45 in the register a day before the polls

00:03:48 at the Ashanti regional office of the electoral commission.

00:03:51 Attempts to get the commission

00:03:53 accept a supplementary register was denied.

00:03:56 Head of the EC in the Ashanti region,

00:03:58 Benjamin Bonobio directed constituency executives

00:04:02 to channel the grievances

00:04:03 through the party's election committee.

00:04:06 - If they have anything to do,

00:04:07 they need to trash it out

00:04:09 with their national election committee.

00:04:12 And then national election committee

00:04:14 will get to the head of the electoral commission.

00:04:17 And then if there's anything to go by,

00:04:20 head of the commission will also inform us

00:04:22 as to the next line of action.

00:04:25 But for now, we are going to go ahead

00:04:29 and have the election with the register

00:04:31 that has been given to us.

00:04:33 - On election day,

00:04:34 names of about 40 polling station offices

00:04:38 in the Asoka constituency were missing from the register.

00:04:41 One of the affected persons, Mr. J,

00:04:44 said the challenge encountered could mar the election.

00:04:47 - (speaks in foreign language)

00:04:51 - Two weeks to the poll,

00:04:52 I got information that my name was not captured.

00:04:56 My coordinator asked for my ID card

00:04:58 to correct the anomaly.

00:05:00 I came here today to find out

00:05:02 that my name was still not captured.

00:05:05 In my polling station,

00:05:06 four out of the five executives were not captured.

00:05:10 This can negatively affect the election.

00:05:12 - (speaks in foreign language)

00:05:15 - In the Bosonche constituency,

00:05:17 name of the member of parliament, Dr. Yaw Osei-Odichu,

00:05:21 was missing from the voter register

00:05:23 after close to an hour of deliberations

00:05:25 to get national party officials to resolve the issue.

00:05:29 The MP was allowed to cast his ballots.

00:05:32 Here is the MP's reaction after the issues were resolved.

00:05:35 - No, I think it was a general issue

00:05:38 that was quickly resolved by the headquarters,

00:05:42 by the party general secretary

00:05:44 through the EC and back to the region.

00:05:48 Everything is good.

00:05:50 - Issues of proxy voting became a challenge

00:05:53 at the Menchia South constituency.

00:05:56 But election committee member, Gary Nymako,

00:05:59 insisted the voter register was credible.

00:06:02 He refuted the challenges witnessed in some areas.

00:06:06 - There's an original voter register.

00:06:08 Your name will be there.

00:06:09 You can go and check and you vote.

00:06:11 You vote.

00:06:12 I think so far, where we've been,

00:06:15 we have seen any mix-up or anything.

00:06:19 We have not seen that.

00:06:20 But if your name is not there,

00:06:21 there's an original document that you can look at

00:06:23 the one you want and vote.

00:06:25 - Which one is the original register?

00:06:26 Because yesterday I spoke to--

00:06:27 - There are three registers.

00:06:28 There are three registers.

00:06:30 The one at the center, before you enter,

00:06:32 there's one there to check.

00:06:33 There's one in the midstream and there's one at the EC.

00:06:36 So which one, they say they can't find their names.

00:06:39 - The one the EC is using, because yesterday,

00:06:41 for instance, the Asokwa constituency,

00:06:44 they went to the EC's office

00:06:45 to get issues with the register resolved.

00:06:48 Yes, for instance.

00:06:49 - We just left Asokwa right now.

00:06:50 And they are voting peacefully over there.

00:06:53 We don't see anything wrong in Asokwa.

00:06:55 We just left there about 15 minutes ago.

00:06:58 From Asokwa, we came here.

00:07:00 And we didn't hear the complaint about,

00:07:02 anybody complain about voter register in Asokwa.

00:07:04 So I'm surprised you hear this in here.

00:07:05 I'm surprised.

00:07:06 Yeah, we just came from Asokwa.

00:07:07 Yeah.

00:07:08 Yeah, so I think so far, for me,

00:07:11 it's been peaceful.

00:07:12 It's been very orderly.

00:07:14 Let's commend the police, let's commend our delegates.

00:07:16 So far, I think so far, so good.

00:07:19 - Though the issue caused tempers to flare

00:07:21 among party members,

00:07:23 the election in the region remained largely calm

00:07:26 and peaceful.

00:07:27 Reconciliation process for the party remains

00:07:30 the major concern to many.

00:07:32 Ejusu MP, John Kuma, spoke to Joy News.

00:07:35 - Oh, we are very hopeful that

00:07:40 the leadership of the party and the government

00:07:43 will come together to resolve all the disagreements

00:07:47 that we observed during the campaign.

00:07:51 Of course, these things are normal

00:07:53 when everybody's campaigning for power.

00:07:56 So as long as we understand that we are one family,

00:08:00 we will bridge the gaps and the bridges

00:08:04 and then forge ahead.

00:08:06 This is not the ultimate.

00:08:07 This is just to pick a flag bearer.

00:08:10 - Let's talk health now.

00:08:11 Health officials are reporting alarming health concerns

00:08:14 among residents and communities

00:08:16 whose sources of water have been polluted

00:08:18 by illegal mining.

00:08:20 Now, tests conducted by health officials

00:08:22 have revealed levels of heavy metals

00:08:24 in the rivers and water bodies,

00:08:26 casting a shadow of uncertainty

00:08:28 over the fate of those affected communities.

00:08:31 In the second part of our latest hotline documentary

00:08:35 titled "Poisoned for Gold,"

00:08:37 Erastus Asaridonko reports that the rivers and water bodies

00:08:40 that have sustained communities for generations

00:08:42 are now battlegrounds of destruction

00:08:44 ravaged by the devastating consequences of illegal mining.

00:08:48 - The milky brown color of the rivers and streams

00:08:53 flowing across the country

00:08:54 indicate suspended particles,

00:08:57 including poisonous heavy metals.

00:08:59 Two years ago, residents of Eusiejo,

00:09:03 in the Ahanta West area of the country,

00:09:06 were drinking the polluted water.

00:09:08 But soon, they started experiencing strange afflictions,

00:09:12 as recounted by Theodora Yamwa,

00:09:15 a nurse in charge of the town's chips compound.

00:09:18 - Some of them came there with frequent urinating

00:09:23 and also burning sensation when they're urinating.

00:09:28 And also some came with skin rashes.

00:09:32 - We've reached the end of our story.

00:09:34 We've fetched samples from the Tano, Brem,

00:09:38 Butere, Ofing, Enuru, Ankobra, Pra,

00:09:43 and other polluted sources of water

00:09:46 to be tested for heavy metals

00:09:48 at the Sheath Laboratory of the KNUST's chemistry department.

00:09:53 After a week of testing, the results were in.

00:09:58 - For standard-seek,

00:10:01 we used the World Health Organization standards.

00:10:03 - The World Health Organization

00:10:06 pegs the acceptable standard for arsenic

00:10:09 at 0.0050 milligrams per liter,

00:10:14 while the US and Ghana pegs it at 0.010 milligram per liter.

00:10:19 The Oda, Brem, Pra, Ankobra, Enuru, Ofing,

00:10:26 Eshri, Butere, Subri, and Tano

00:10:30 registered between 0.216 and 0.444 milligrams per liter,

00:10:35 which is 0.434 milligrams higher than acceptable levels.

00:10:44 This is 20.6 to 55.6% higher than acceptable levels

00:10:51 in water using the American and Ghanaian standards.

00:10:58 Dr. Eugene Ansah explains the test results.

00:11:02 - All these water samples that are coming from

00:11:06 our water bodies in Ghana

00:11:08 were found to be acidic in nature,

00:11:11 that is having a pH less than seven.

00:11:14 It means that it has got a corrosive effect,

00:11:17 and whenever you drink it, you have irritations.

00:11:20 In the truth, drinking water is expected to be neutral.

00:11:28 - Now let's talk flooding.

00:11:30 Residents of Gemini in the South Dain District

00:11:32 of the Volta region are worried that recent floods

00:11:35 could impact their health negatively.

00:11:38 This is because they continue to rely on water

00:11:40 from the lake, which is contaminated with fecal matter

00:11:43 and other harmful elements.

00:11:45 Fred Kwame Asare now reports.

00:11:47 - Following a rise in water level in the upper Volta,

00:11:52 about 18 communities in the South Dain District

00:11:54 of the Volta region have been flooded.

00:11:57 The entire market area in Gemini has been taken over

00:12:00 by the floods, crippling economic activities

00:12:03 in the community.

00:12:04 Some households, shops and sanitary facilities

00:12:07 have been submerged by the floods.

00:12:09 The member of parliament for South Dain,

00:12:11 Roxanne Dapia-Mekbo, lamented the situation.

00:12:15 - So we have a situation where two health centers

00:12:20 are completely cut off.

00:12:23 So essentially, I have been adversely impacted

00:12:27 as a district.

00:12:29 I have over 4,000 to 5,000 persons affected.

00:12:34 I have about 300 homes underwater.

00:12:37 And I have about 1,200 households affected.

00:12:44 But above all, the Gemini market,

00:12:49 which is like the commercial heartbeat of the district,

00:12:54 of the area, of the region, of the entire Eastern Hemisphere

00:12:59 of the nation, is completely annihilated.

00:13:03 You found Gemini market in the streets

00:13:09 and in the lorry parks.

00:13:11 That isn't Gemini market.

00:13:13 - In a worrying development, the residents continue

00:13:16 to rely on water from the lake,

00:13:17 which is heavily contaminated.

00:13:20 Our cameras caught some vendors using it to wash spices,

00:13:23 while some residents were spotted fetching it home.

00:13:26 Though the residents are aware of the health implications,

00:13:29 they are compelled to use the water,

00:13:31 as they have no other source.

00:13:33 - We did not have any safe water here for drinking.

00:13:38 As you can see, the water is so much polluted

00:13:42 that it is the same water that we are using

00:13:46 for other activities in the community.

00:13:48 Likewise, drinking, bathing, and washing.

00:13:52 And this water is not safe for human consumption.

00:13:55 We have three public facilities

00:13:59 that has been submerged in this water.

00:14:01 - Public toilets?

00:14:02 - Public toilets, three.

00:14:04 Different three that has been submerged in this water.

00:14:06 And other household line trees that has been submerged.

00:14:11 So, as you can see, we are not safe here.

00:14:15 (speaking in foreign language)

00:14:19 (speaking in foreign language)

00:14:23 - Responding to the clarion call of the residents,

00:14:39 Lions International presented some relief items

00:14:42 to be distributed to the victims.

00:14:45 Lion Prince, Orbein Dwamina,

00:14:47 is the second vice district governor.

00:14:49 - Broadly, we are a humanitarian service organization.

00:14:54 And so when disaster happens,

00:14:57 it falls directly under our purview.

00:15:00 We've done some touring,

00:15:02 and we've seen the effect of the devastation

00:15:04 that has happened.

00:15:06 And so we're touched,

00:15:08 and we had to put our heads together

00:15:10 and bring out some relief to the people of this community.

00:15:14 - The little bit that we have, we have given up.

00:15:16 But we're appealing to all other communities,

00:15:21 all other clubs, all other societies,

00:15:24 that if you have something to give up, please.

00:15:28 The reality is that the people are in distress.

00:15:31 They need help.

00:15:32 - Fred Kwame Asai, Joy News, Germany.

00:15:39 - Now, the chairman of the governing council

00:15:44 of the Simon Diodon Dombo University, Kweku Pintso,

00:15:47 has expressed worry over the delay by government

00:15:50 to release seed money to the university

00:15:52 to enable it execute projects successfully.

00:15:55 He wants government to swiftly release funds

00:15:58 for stalled projects.

00:15:59 Mr. Pintso made the appeal at the second congregation

00:16:02 of the SDD Ubits in Wa, Rafik Salam reports.

00:16:06 - The Simon Diodon Dombo University of Business

00:16:09 and Integrated Development Studies, SDD Ubits,

00:16:13 was established in 2019 by an act of parliament,

00:16:17 Act 1001, and came into being in May 2020

00:16:22 with its main campus at Wa, Bamaho.

00:16:25 The act, which established SDD Ubits,

00:16:28 mandates it to be an outstanding international acclaimed

00:16:31 applied research and practical-oriented

00:16:34 educational institution dedicated to the development

00:16:37 of business and integrated development studies

00:16:40 and related matters.

00:16:41 The congregation therefore held at the university

00:16:45 is the second since its establishment four years ago.

00:16:49 A total of 1,513 students took part in the congregation

00:16:54 and were conferred with diploma degree,

00:16:57 master of philosophy, and doctor of philosophy degrees.

00:17:01 Chairman of the governing council of SDD Ubits,

00:17:04 Loya Kwekuya Mwapintso,

00:17:06 it emerged some success and shock

00:17:08 by the governing council of the university.

00:17:11 - We have published an administrative manual

00:17:14 for the school running of the administration

00:17:17 of this university.

00:17:19 We have a sexual harassment policy,

00:17:23 which should bring a lot of relief

00:17:26 to both students and academia.

00:17:29 - He used the opportunity to repeat his request

00:17:32 for a seed money for the university,

00:17:34 which he first appealed to President Nkufadu

00:17:36 at the ambassadorship of the first vice chancellor

00:17:39 of the university couple of years ago.

00:17:42 - Funds that are given to the university

00:17:46 to overcome its infancy

00:17:48 and to be able to stand upon its feet.

00:17:52 We regret to bring to your notice

00:17:56 that in spite of our valiant efforts,

00:18:01 we have been unavailing to get these funds released to us.

00:18:06 - Loya Kwekuya Mwapintso is therefore not oblivious

00:18:09 of the challenges that the country is going through

00:18:12 financially, but pleased that President Nkufadu

00:18:15 should intercede on their behalf.

00:18:18 - We appreciate and understand

00:18:20 the precarious predicament of this country

00:18:26 in terms of finances.

00:18:30 We appreciate the competing demands on the public face

00:18:37 and wish to understand why maybe it has been late

00:18:41 for us to get these funds.

00:18:44 But like that Kenyanite woman who came to Jesus,

00:18:49 when she had asked for a fail.

00:18:51 - Now the principal of the Wenshi Agricultural College,

00:18:57 Muhammad Abdullahi has bemoaned

00:18:58 the inadequate infrastructure of the school,

00:19:01 which according to him is affecting

00:19:03 the quality of education.

00:19:05 The principal who was speaking

00:19:06 at the school's fourth matriculation ceremony

00:19:08 said the products of the college

00:19:10 had what it takes to make government's

00:19:13 flagship planting for food and jobs

00:19:15 phase three program a success.

00:19:17 And Asabit has more in this report.

00:19:19 - Food and nutrition programs in schools

00:19:23 can be effective tools to reach

00:19:25 nutritionally vulnerable populations

00:19:27 and have the potential to address the causes of hunger,

00:19:31 malnutrition and food insecurity

00:19:33 if designed in a comprehensive way.

00:19:36 And as part of efforts aimed at addressing food insecurity,

00:19:40 breaking the cycle of rural poverty

00:19:42 by building synergies between agriculture

00:19:44 and social protection policies,

00:19:46 the government through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture

00:19:49 established the Wenshi Agricultural College

00:19:51 to provide students, particularly the youth,

00:19:54 with the requisite theoretical and practical knowledge

00:19:57 and skills needed to go into farming.

00:19:59 Principal of the school, Muhammad Abdullahi,

00:20:02 said the fourth matriculation ceremony of the school

00:20:05 bemoaned the limited space available

00:20:07 to accommodate more students in the school.

00:20:09 - Our bigger challenge has to do with space.

00:20:14 And so, one, the interest among the youth

00:20:18 is growing day in, day out.

00:20:19 It is our expectation that the government,

00:20:24 for that matter, and other environmental partners

00:20:27 will do something to help us increase the facilities

00:20:32 so that it will pay way for more of our intake

00:20:35 going into the future.

00:20:37 But I must say that the intake this year is quite impressive

00:20:41 and we hope to do better going into the future.

00:20:44 - He's however hopeful that the trainees of the college

00:20:47 who have garnered enough theoretical and practical skills

00:20:50 have what it takes to make government's flagship

00:20:53 PFJ Phase 3 project a success,

00:20:55 provided they are given the needed tools to work with.

00:20:59 - Our trainees are basically the youth.

00:21:01 And it is our expectation that when they complete from here,

00:21:05 they will have been trained competently in these areas

00:21:09 that the Planting for Food and Job Phase 2

00:21:12 is coming to address.

00:21:14 And for some of them,

00:21:15 one, the skills and competencies are attained.

00:21:19 The next thing is what it takes to go into the fold.

00:21:23 So if this new phase is coming,

00:21:27 if it is going to address the issue of capital

00:21:30 or the facility for them to go onto the ground,

00:21:34 I think it will go a long way to help them get engaged

00:21:38 meaningfully into the fold of agriculture completion.

00:21:41 - One of the major concerns raised by the authorities

00:21:43 of the school has to do with encroachment

00:21:45 of the school's land by private developers.

00:21:49 Nifa Heni of the Wenche Traditional Council,

00:21:51 Nana Nyama Amiao Kitikwu II promised

00:21:54 that the traditional authorities are committed

00:21:57 to ensuring that the school's land space

00:21:59 is protected from encroachers.

00:22:01 - When the school was established in 1964,

00:22:04 they allocated about 80 acres.

00:22:09 Now, as we stand, most of the land has been encroached.

00:22:14 And we set up a committee to look into that.

00:22:19 - And it's on that agricultural note

00:22:24 that we cap off the news, but stay with us.

00:22:26 Up next, we serve you the news review.

00:22:29 (upbeat music)

00:22:32 - Thank you so much for staying.

00:22:51 Time now for us to get into the newspapers this morning.

00:22:55 And I'll be telling you shortly

00:22:57 who joins us for that conversation.

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00:23:30 If you're in Tema, Community 22 is where they are located.

00:23:33 There's also their Techiman Hanswa

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00:23:55 End Point Homeopathic Clinic,

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00:23:59 Joining us for the news review this morning,

00:24:02 here's a stalwart of the New Patriotic Party.

00:24:05 He himself, wanting to become Member of Parliament.

00:24:11 He's government spokesperson on governance and security.

00:24:15 Paul Grave, wachetangkwa, is our guest.

00:24:17 Babume.

00:24:19 - Benjamin, good morning.

00:24:21 - Yesi Ayache.

00:24:22 - Ampa.

00:24:23 - And I know you've been mourning.

00:24:25 - I have.

00:24:26 - Your mom and all of that, once more our condolences.

00:24:28 - Thank you.

00:24:29 - And our regards to the family.

00:24:31 - Thank you, very grateful.

00:24:33 - All right, so let's get down to it.

00:24:35 Saturday was a momentous occasion

00:24:37 for the New Patriotic Party,

00:24:40 and you elected a flag bearer.

00:24:42 We'll get into what kind of flag bearer,

00:24:44 but what are your initial impressions

00:24:46 of what happened on Saturday?

00:24:48 - Benjamin, a very good morning to you

00:24:50 and to your viewing public and to my constituents,

00:24:53 the good people of Achimbe-Buakwa North.

00:24:55 Saturday was a very victorious day,

00:24:59 a very democratic day,

00:25:03 a very decisive, concisive,

00:25:06 keenly contested internal elections

00:25:10 of the New Patriotic Party.

00:25:11 I must first of all congratulate

00:25:14 Alhaji Dr. Mahmoud Boumia for convincingly winning

00:25:19 the internal elections and becoming the flag bearer

00:25:23 of the New Patriotic Party.

00:25:24 And also to congratulate the Honorable Kennedy,

00:25:28 Akompre-Kun Ejepon,

00:25:30 for also doing a very, very, very good job

00:25:35 as stalwart of the New Patriotic Party,

00:25:38 a consummate politician, maximal respect to him,

00:25:42 to his supporters, to the people that believed in him.

00:25:45 To congratulate the Honorable Njinia Adayinimu,

00:25:50 perfect gentleman, together with his wife,

00:25:53 and to congratulate Dr. Efrie Akoto.

00:25:56 I mean, for us as a New Patriotic Party,

00:25:58 Saturday was a combination of diverse diversity

00:26:03 and unity and a forge ahead

00:26:07 towards a journey of possibilities for the Ghanian people.

00:26:11 And we are in no doubt in our mind that as we forge ahead

00:26:14 under the new leadership of Alhaji Dr. Mahmoud Boumia,

00:26:17 Ghana is gonna be great again,

00:26:20 with all the expectations and the desires that we so have

00:26:22 for the good people of this country.

00:26:24 - Now you mentioned Kennedy Ejepon.

00:26:28 Did you expect him to perform so well?

00:26:30 In fact, the majority leader, Osayiche Mentsabonsu,

00:26:34 was actually spoken to and he expressed his shock

00:26:39 about some of the votes that Kennedy Ejepon secured.

00:26:42 Let's not even talk about that 700 and something

00:26:44 to less than 100 spread in the central region.

00:26:49 But in the Ashanti region, he performed so well,

00:26:52 and you look at it, 30% plus thereabouts.

00:26:56 Were you expecting him to perform that well?

00:26:58 - Well, I didn't doubt the well-without of Kennedy Ejepon.

00:27:02 I did expect that he would do well.

00:27:04 - And by the way, I posed that question from the foundation

00:27:08 just to clarify that many, those in the Boumia camp

00:27:13 and many in the MPP, I said he would get over 80%.

00:27:16 In fact, one UK survey said he would get 80.8%.

00:27:20 Then all those who came to the studio said over 70%.

00:27:23 Honestly, I had shared somewhere that I felt

00:27:27 he would get something around 60%

00:27:30 and that we're giving Kennedy too little credit.

00:27:34 Indeed, he scored just around that.

00:27:36 And that also ties with what global info analytics gave us,

00:27:39 which has been ravished by the MPP,

00:27:41 but they've been proven right.

00:27:42 So in that context.

00:27:44 - Well, I mean, I think that in going into electioneering,

00:27:47 definitely there'll be polls that will come out.

00:27:50 We are aware that elections are won on the very day

00:27:54 that the voting is customed as people exercise

00:27:58 their democratic rights and franchise.

00:28:01 I mean, Kennedy Ejepon, the Honorable Kennedy Ejepon

00:28:04 has been a member of parliament,

00:28:06 the longest obviously understands grassroots politics,

00:28:11 knows grassroots politics,

00:28:13 has traveled the length and breadth of this country

00:28:16 campaigning likewise.

00:28:17 I'll urge you Dr. Mahmoud Boumia from 2000 up until now,

00:28:21 he's been a full-time running mate,

00:28:24 two-time vice president.

00:28:26 I mean, I'm not surprised.

00:28:29 I mean, that Kennedy could pull such numbers.

00:28:33 And you also are aware that in the lead up to this,

00:28:36 I mean, all the persons that were supposed to stand,

00:28:39 I mean, we had a few people who left out as well

00:28:43 to start their own journey as it is,

00:28:47 to be able to impact the political polity in this country.

00:28:51 But I think that as a party, we are united in our front.

00:28:56 We are very aware of our foreseeable challenges

00:29:00 in the future as we lead up into the 2024 general election.

00:29:04 The victory messages that came from everybody

00:29:07 was extremely, extremely encouraging.

00:29:10 Fought right to be able to state that the elections

00:29:14 were free, fair, conducted in a transparent manner,

00:29:17 incidents free,

00:29:19 congratulated the EC for their outstanding support,

00:29:22 congratulated the police service

00:29:25 led by the Inspector General of Police,

00:29:27 Dr. George Okufudan Pari,

00:29:28 exceedingly work that has been done.

00:29:31 It has been one of the most peaceful internal elections

00:29:35 of the new patriotic party and even of the fourth republic.

00:29:39 And we are very pleased with that.

00:29:42 But it goes to state that in politics,

00:29:45 hard work pays off and everybody has worked extremely hard.

00:29:50 Everyone has worked extremely hard

00:29:51 and it's important that we congratulate everyone.

00:29:54 Moving forward, obviously,

00:29:55 we are aware that we have a nation to govern

00:29:59 and we have an election to win.

00:30:01 - Okay, let me, I just want to quickly sneak this by you

00:30:04 so that we get into the papers.

00:30:05 After all, that's what we're here for,

00:30:06 but I cannot have a stalwart of the MP come

00:30:08 and not throw some of these by you.

00:30:11 Two quick things.

00:30:12 The last one would be to find out,

00:30:14 I mean, your quest to become a member of parliament.

00:30:16 I mean, where that is headed.

00:30:18 But on staying on Dr. Bawumia,

00:30:20 some have said that he's the weakest ever candidate

00:30:23 the MPP is going to field in an election

00:30:26 in the fourth republic, the weakest ever.

00:30:28 Already, some have said that all the four

00:30:30 that have been fielded were the weakest crop

00:30:33 that the MPP had ever fielded.

00:30:35 And now they've selected one of them.

00:30:37 What does that mean?

00:30:38 And just look at it this way.

00:30:41 He secures 61.4% of the vote,

00:30:44 far below what anyone in the party had projected.

00:30:48 On the other end, the person who's going to face

00:30:50 this main contender, John Romani Mahama,

00:30:53 secured 98.9% of the votes when the NDC had its Congress.

00:30:58 Now you put the two side by side.

00:31:00 The NDC had about 355,000 plus delegates casting their vote,

00:31:05 almost twice the number that you fielded.

00:31:07 How do you do the math?

00:31:08 What does that mean for you?

00:31:10 - Well, I don't think that projections

00:31:11 and opinions of persons on Alhaji Dr. Mahmood Bawumia

00:31:15 being a weak candidate is--

00:31:17 - You don't think he's a weak candidate?

00:31:18 - I don't think Alhaji Dr. Mahmood Bawumia

00:31:20 is a weak candidate.

00:31:21 And the data is there to prove.

00:31:22 I mean, in 1992, Edou Bwahine,

00:31:25 in the internal elections had 56.6%.

00:31:29 Jonah Jakum Kufo had 51.9% in 1996.

00:31:33 Nana Adedankwe Kufo-Addo,

00:31:34 who is President of the Republic of Ghana in 2007,

00:31:37 had 47.97%.

00:31:41 I mean, in the history of this country

00:31:44 and the history of the new patriotic party,

00:31:46 for a man who was not a career politician

00:31:48 at a time when he was noticed,

00:31:51 I mean, as Deputy Governor by the President,

00:31:55 Jonah Jakum Kufo,

00:31:56 and to become a running mate of Nana Adedankwe Kufo-Addo,

00:32:01 who is a career politician,

00:32:02 to stand for the first time in an internal election

00:32:04 to pool 61.4%, I think that is no weak at all.

00:32:09 You talk about the NDC.

00:32:09 I mean, the NDC did not have an election.

00:32:11 They had a referendum, clearly.

00:32:13 The NDC did not have an election.

00:32:14 - He was contested.

00:32:15 - Well, I mean, he was--

00:32:16 - By the former mayor of Kumasi.

00:32:17 - No, I mean, that was almost a referendum.

00:32:20 - What is that?

00:32:21 - That was an acclamation.

00:32:22 Even when in 2015, I mean, in 2015 in the NDC,

00:32:26 Prime Minister John Dramani Mahama stood against Nul.

00:32:29 Nul had 60,000.

00:32:30 - Right.

00:32:31 - People that rejected him within the NDC were 60,000.

00:32:34 - What did he get at the end, by way of the approval?

00:32:37 - Yes, I mean--

00:32:38 - You want to mention 60,000, but that's the rest.

00:32:40 - Yes, of course, but it's also important

00:32:41 to be able to mention that Al-Hajji Dr. Mahmoud Bamiya

00:32:43 has put such a remarkable percentage.

00:32:45 - 61.4%.

00:32:46 - I think it's a remarkable percentage.

00:32:48 I mean, remarkable percentage,

00:32:50 and we need to be able to applaud him,

00:32:51 applaud the campaign team, applaud every other person.

00:32:54 Applaud, especially, I mean, for me,

00:32:56 not singling out any other person,

00:32:57 but Samia Wuku, an extreme, perfect gentleman,

00:33:01 done an extremely good work coordinating

00:33:03 this entire campaign.

00:33:04 I'm extremely pleased with the results,

00:33:06 and everyone is extremely pleased with this result.

00:33:08 It's never happened in the Republic of Ghana.

00:33:10 It's never happened in a new patriotic--

00:33:12 - Can Dr. Bamiya win election 2024?

00:33:14 - I believe so that Al-Hajji Dr. Mahmoud Bamiya

00:33:16 would win the 2024 general election,

00:33:20 and would bring this country on a journey of possibilities.

00:33:22 We've just launched a journey of possibilities.

00:33:25 - Right.

00:33:26 The battle has been won.

00:33:28 Now remains the war.

00:33:29 The Ghanaian Times newspaper,

00:33:31 NPP decides it's Dr. Bamiya as flag bearer of NPP

00:33:35 for 2024 general election.

00:33:37 President hands over NPP leadership to Dr. Bamiya,

00:33:40 vows to ensure his election as next president.

00:33:44 And to ensure his election as next president.

00:33:48 Is it in the bosom of the president,

00:33:51 or on the bosom of the honorary voters of Ghana?

00:33:54 Just thinking aloud.

00:33:55 I'll be my own man in government,

00:33:56 vice president declares as he picks a baton to lead NPP.

00:34:01 Nungwa Stool invites homeowners on Adjirigano

00:34:04 and Bortiman lands to regularize documents

00:34:06 following Supreme Court ruling.

00:34:08 On the back page, Kotoko lose to Dreams FC at home.

00:34:11 Charlie, what's up, what's up?

00:34:13 And now the porcupine is getting,

00:34:16 it's as though they were taking the pines off.

00:34:18 And then the quails actually.

00:34:20 Ten man, Mediama stun Lagon cities.

00:34:23 Karela and Hart's draw in Tamale.

00:34:26 And there was also that on the international front,

00:34:29 interesting draw.

00:34:29 I think it was Luton Town with Liverpool.

00:34:33 But let's get into the stories now.

00:34:34 And I think it's page 12.

00:34:37 I have to go to for the first big one.

00:34:41 Here we go, page 12.

00:34:43 Vice president Dr. Mahmoud Bamiya was on Saturday

00:34:46 elected flag bearer to contest on the ticket

00:34:48 of the governing new patriotic party

00:34:50 in the 2024 presidential election.

00:34:53 He pulled 118,210 of the 192,446 valid votes cast

00:34:58 representing 61.47% to beat his closest contender,

00:35:04 Kennedy or Hineye Japong in the keenly contested election.

00:35:07 Mr. Japong, member of parliament for ASEAN Central

00:35:09 garnered 71,996 votes representing 37.41%

00:35:14 ahead of two other contenders

00:35:17 for that is former minister of agriculture,

00:35:20 Dr. Ouswe Friakotu, 1,459 votes translating into 0.76%.

00:35:25 And former MP for Mampong Francis Adainimo,

00:35:29 781 votes representing 0.41%.

00:35:33 So there you go, the ASEAN Central MP.

00:35:36 I call them the dark horse of the race

00:35:38 garnering almost 40% out of nowhere in there.

00:35:43 There's also parliament and NTC to deepen ties

00:35:47 and the head of the newly created

00:35:48 media relations directorate of parliament,

00:35:50 David Sebastian Damois, or Damois,

00:35:54 has called on the editor of the Ghanaian Times,

00:35:55 David Agbenu.

00:35:56 The visit is part of measures taken by the new directorate

00:35:59 to further deepen the relationship between the legislature

00:36:02 and the New Times Corporation,

00:36:03 publishers of the Ghanaian Times and the spectator.

00:36:07 And let me also sneak in this bit

00:36:11 before I come to Pogre for some remarks.

00:36:14 Dr. Opunni Trial, seven cocoa regional managers

00:36:19 lobbied for more liquid fertilizer.

00:36:21 That's according to a witness.

00:36:23 This happens to be a never ending saga

00:36:26 as far as the little vet cocoa pot saga is concerned.

00:36:31 But in this latest development,

00:36:33 Mr. Peter Orchard-Watting, the seventh defense witness

00:36:36 has told the Accra High Court

00:36:38 trying the alleged cocoa pot financial loss case

00:36:40 that all regional managers

00:36:42 of seven cocoa regions of the country

00:36:43 lobbied for more supply of lithovit liquid fertilizer.

00:36:48 Of course, that backs what claims

00:36:51 have been made by the accused.

00:36:53 But that also brings me to an interesting point.

00:36:57 The losses that cocoa pot has been incurring,

00:36:59 I broke it down for you in my blunts thoughts

00:37:02 a few weeks ago, over the years,

00:37:05 the wanton losses that it has been bringing to bear.

00:37:10 Who is going to account for that?

00:37:12 Are we going to bring some accountability for that as well?

00:37:15 Pogre, any remarks?

00:37:18 - Well, I mean, so clearly the newspapers have said it all.

00:37:24 Dr. Mahmoud Bouamia has stated that he would be his own man.

00:37:28 And when you follow through his speech,

00:37:31 he launches a path for his vision on page 13.

00:37:34 He says that, "My vision is to build an inclusive,

00:37:38 "food self-sufficient, data-driven, system-based nation

00:37:42 "that will fully participate

00:37:44 "in the global digital revolution to solve our problems

00:37:47 "and also to usher in a golden age of benefits

00:37:50 "from our natural resources.

00:37:52 "I want to lead a nation that improves and unleashes

00:37:55 "the talents of our youth and offers good jobs

00:37:58 "with good pay and sustainable growth

00:38:00 "with macroeconomic discipline."

00:38:02 I think that his speeches are well.

00:38:03 Can I go on to the newspaper?

00:38:05 - Just on those speeches,

00:38:06 we all know that governance isn't by speeches.

00:38:08 I just had to add that.

00:38:10 - Absolutely, absolutely.

00:38:11 - We've heard too much from politicians,

00:38:13 NDC, NDP, this and that. - It's with substance

00:38:14 and what we've done.

00:38:16 - And what we want to see is the real thing on the ground.

00:38:21 Politics, as far back as level 100 or 200

00:38:24 at the University of Ghana, it was clear.

00:38:26 In political science class,

00:38:28 political parties seek to secure power

00:38:32 so that they can actually bring development

00:38:34 so that they can propagate the ideas they have espoused.

00:38:38 But we all know that, especially on this continent,

00:38:42 what is said versus the work on the ground are huge.

00:38:50 - Well, I think that, Benjamin,

00:38:52 one of the things that is important to also highlight

00:38:55 is that until a vision is written on a paper,

00:38:56 it cannot be implemented.

00:38:58 - Oh, really? - That's key.

00:38:59 You must be able to let your vision be written on a paper,

00:39:03 clearly understood by people to carry on.

00:39:05 Even the good book says that.

00:39:07 Write your vision on the tablets of paper

00:39:09 so people can see it and run with it.

00:39:11 - Yeah, the good book also talks about planning

00:39:13 and the fool who starts putting up stuff

00:39:17 without having the wherewithal to complete it.

00:39:19 That is also relevant.

00:39:20 - Yeah, I mean, I don't doubt that.

00:39:21 But I mean, much as politics is not about speeches,

00:39:24 politics is also about making sure

00:39:26 you are cutting a clear path of vision,

00:39:28 and we cannot discount that.

00:39:30 - Abbas, Abdullah Gambidi comes here with this comment.

00:39:33 He says, "Mere speeches aren't what we need at the moment."

00:39:37 - Well, he will deliver on his promise.

00:39:38 Can I go on to the news before you?

00:39:39 - Yes, please do.

00:39:40 - Okay, "The Daily Guide."

00:39:42 Bawumia leads NPP, grabs 61.47 votes.

00:39:47 On the front page of "The Daily Guide" as well,

00:39:53 "I have my own vision, NPP flag bearer."

00:39:56 And 432 kilometer road in Volta,

00:40:00 unprecedented, Nana Adodankwa Ekufuadu.

00:40:04 At the back page, Jordan sets EPL record,

00:40:08 and Nima school crowned NFL flag champions.

00:40:13 I think that Abedi Pele Ayu celebrated a birthday.

00:40:17 - Abedi Ayu.

00:40:18 - Yes, over the weekend.

00:40:20 The Daily Stays--

00:40:21 - He's Africa's first,

00:40:23 oftentimes when we talk about the Ballon d'Or

00:40:26 and all of that, at his time,

00:40:28 I believe with Olympic Marseille,

00:40:29 when they took the European gold.

00:40:31 He was the first to place in the top 10

00:40:33 in terms of the FIFA rankings.

00:40:35 I think he placed ninth, and it's worthy of note.

00:40:38 In recent times, I've seen a lot of talk about Mané,

00:40:42 Salah, Eto'o, and all the others,

00:40:45 Drogba and Co, who are featured in the top 10.

00:40:47 It's also worthy of notes.

00:40:49 - And he took the African best player

00:40:51 back to back three times.

00:40:53 - No, he's done excellent.

00:40:54 - Amazing character.

00:40:55 - We must commend him,

00:40:56 and he's been able to keep a high level of integrity

00:40:59 after his football career.

00:41:01 The Daily Staysman.

00:41:02 NPP has a place for all.

00:41:06 Flag bearer, Baumea, seeks unity

00:41:09 towards victory in 2024.

00:41:12 Can others pledge full support?

00:41:14 And I mean, this--

00:41:17 - That was beautiful, though.

00:41:18 - This front page-- - Is that what it ought to be.

00:41:19 - Very, very beautiful.

00:41:21 I mean, and he calls everyone

00:41:24 from all sectors of the Ghanaian economy,

00:41:27 from the civil service, from the public service,

00:41:29 from the civil society organization,

00:41:31 from the business community,

00:41:33 from intellectuals, from technocrats.

00:41:36 He calls all.

00:41:37 And the amazing thing is that he calls Gen Z,

00:41:40 the millennials, he calls them,

00:41:41 that NPP has a place for all.

00:41:44 On the front page of the Daily Staysman--

00:41:46 - But Gen Z's are interested in Jobsville.

00:41:48 - Oh, of course, I mean, the vice president--

00:41:50 - Is Job--

00:41:51 - The vice president is not blinded to that.

00:41:53 - Let me tell you something.

00:41:54 Sometimes I think of the politics in our country,

00:41:57 and this comes to mind,

00:41:58 and I'll just share it with you.

00:42:00 If the NPP takes it up, all well and good.

00:42:02 I feel we've got to the point

00:42:04 where the people don't want too much talk.

00:42:06 Do you know, in jurisdictions where politicians deliver,

00:42:11 you don't need to talk too much.

00:42:12 I feel in this country, looking at where we are,

00:42:15 economically with Gallamsey and all of that, me, me,

00:42:18 if any leader were able to come

00:42:21 and even maintain the status quo in the economy

00:42:23 and other things, but Gallamsey,

00:42:24 get rid of what we are facing,

00:42:28 and get certain things done,

00:42:29 on that front alone, that person would secure my vote.

00:42:33 And many people, I speak to people from CSOs,

00:42:35 ordinary people, the elite and all of that,

00:42:38 they say, "We just want someone to come

00:42:41 "who will live up to expectation."

00:42:42 If you do the right things, honestly,

00:42:44 you probably do.

00:42:45 - Dr. Mahmoud Boumya--

00:42:46 - Okay, it's not the fact he talks.

00:42:47 - Dr. Mahmoud Boumya is the right person.

00:42:49 - Kassabibri, Kassabibri, I'm fine with it.

00:42:50 - No, Benjamin, Benjamin, you live off talking.

00:42:54 You live off talking as a journalist.

00:42:55 - I live off talking facts.

00:42:57 - Yes, of course.

00:42:58 - I live off talking facts.

00:42:59 - Of course, of course, of course, of course, of course.

00:43:02 - Incredible, that's what we do.

00:43:04 - But I tell you the truth.

00:43:05 Dr. Mahmoud Boumya is the right person

00:43:07 who will live his talk.

00:43:09 That's an honest truth.

00:43:10 He will live his talk.

00:43:11 He's not blinded to all the challenges

00:43:13 that we're going through as a country.

00:43:14 On the front page of the Daily Stateman as well,

00:43:16 "Security experts cautioned on conflict commentaries

00:43:20 and President Tao's unprecedented 432 kilometer roads

00:43:25 constructed in the Volta region."

00:43:29 Ah, this is a very nice job.

00:43:31 The custodian.

00:43:32 (laughs)

00:43:33 - You should--

00:43:34 - I like your tagline.

00:43:35 - You should, you like the job, right?

00:43:36 - No, no, I like the tagline of the custodian.

00:43:39 - Okay.

00:43:40 - Fearless, fair, and reliable.

00:43:42 (laughs)

00:43:42 - Okay.

00:43:43 - The custodian.

00:43:44 On the front page of the custodian,

00:43:45 "It's confirmed, Boumya versus Mahama in 2024 showdown."

00:43:50 On the front page of the custodian as well,

00:43:55 "The MPP election was free and fair, Kennedy a Japone."

00:44:00 On the front page as well,

00:44:01 "A Kufu Ado sets record in Volta region,

00:44:05 432 kilometer of roads constructed unprecedented."

00:44:12 And "Dr. Mustafa Abdo Hamid, the MPA boss,

00:44:15 CRM to improve LPG access and prevent accidents."

00:44:20 And "Gual M.D. grants lifetime achievement award."

00:44:25 Benjamin, I think I'm done, over to you.

00:44:27 - I just have an interesting question for you.

00:44:29 Some discussions that arose

00:44:30 on the back of Dr. Mahmoud Boumya's win.

00:44:33 Of course, we know Alan recently,

00:44:35 he had his young caucus, you know,

00:44:37 come together, all of them in something

00:44:39 looking like yellow or orange.

00:44:41 Maybe Afafan Tokalis and, you know, the Monarch butterfly.

00:44:45 And he appears to also be doing his thing.

00:44:49 Like it or not, it's going to take votes away

00:44:51 from both the MPP and the NDC,

00:44:54 but more from the MPP, he's from your stock.

00:44:56 You can't run away from that.

00:44:58 Some have also said that even more disastrous

00:45:02 would be the instance where maybe Alan and Kent team up.

00:45:10 Do you see that happening, ever, possible?

00:45:12 - I don't think that is ever going to happen, Benjamin.

00:45:15 I mean, because clearly from the Saturday,

00:45:18 victorious, November 4th, victorious win

00:45:22 for the New Patriotic Party,

00:45:23 and it's an inclusive win, collective win.

00:45:26 We noticed that every single person that was on the ballot

00:45:30 for the November 4th election,

00:45:32 from Honorable Kenneji Rippon,

00:45:34 who was the first on the ballot,

00:45:35 to the Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahmoud Boumya,

00:45:37 who was the second on the ballot,

00:45:39 to Dr. Friya Akoto on the third of the ballot,

00:45:42 and then Adani Mou on the fourth.

00:45:43 All four of them were on the stage

00:45:46 when the Electoral Commission

00:45:48 had to come and declare the results.

00:45:50 - All four of them also re-echoed what Alan had said.

00:45:55 No, no, no, hold on, hold on.

00:45:57 Re-echoed what Alan had said.

00:45:59 In fact, in recent times,

00:46:00 there was an interview with Dr. Friya Akoto,

00:46:02 Elton John Bruby did that.

00:46:04 Manipulation, intimidation, using money

00:46:09 to buy delegates, so to speak.

00:46:12 All of them also mentioned that.

00:46:13 You know that.

00:46:14 - Benjamin, you are talking about something

00:46:16 that happened in the past.

00:46:18 I am talking about something--

00:46:19 - So you've automatically moved--

00:46:20 - Not at all, not at all.

00:46:21 But I'm talking about something that happened on Saturday.

00:46:24 Just this Saturday.

00:46:26 Just this Saturday, these four persons,

00:46:29 including Alhaji Dr. Mahmoud Boumya,

00:46:31 pledged that the biggest opposition that we have

00:46:37 is the NDC to win the 2024 general election.

00:46:41 The Honorable Kennedy Jopin pledged

00:46:43 his full unrelenting support for the flag bearer

00:46:47 of the new patriotic party, pledged as well

00:46:50 that that showdown that must be given,

00:46:53 must be given to the NDC.

00:46:56 And it's instructive for me to state

00:46:58 that in the speech of Alhaji Dr. Mahmoud Boumya,

00:47:00 he says that, and I think that this is important,

00:47:02 on page 16, he says, "Breaking the eight

00:47:05 is not about partisanship, but about patriotism

00:47:08 and knowing that Ghana deserves consistency,

00:47:11 focus and follow through,

00:47:13 not political bickering and division."

00:47:16 And he says, "We will break the eight in unity.

00:47:19 We will govern in unity because regardless

00:47:22 of the margin of our victory, we govern for

00:47:25 and in the interest of 100% of Ghanaians."

00:47:27 And I think that this is key.

00:47:30 This is extremely key that all these persons

00:47:34 have pledged their support.

00:47:35 So for anyone to want to project and assume

00:47:38 that Jonah Boum, Kennedy Jopin would be joining

00:47:41 the movement of the butterfly,

00:47:43 I think that that falls on dead ears.

00:47:48 - Because of time, Ducoup Biapol says,

00:47:51 "Tell the one in your studio that a gallon of petrol

00:47:55 is now the price of a liter of petrol

00:47:59 is now what used to be a gallon of petrol."

00:48:02 I think that is what he's saying.

00:48:04 And of course, I'm sure he's very much aware of it.

00:48:06 What the cost of a gallon of petrol was

00:48:09 is now close to what a liter is in Ghana.

00:48:14 "Boumier makes history and MPP obtains highest endorsement

00:48:18 for any first-time flag bearer aspirant.

00:48:21 432 kilometers of roads constructed in Volta region

00:48:24 unprecedented President Nkufuadzo says so.

00:48:26 MPP can never be tagged as an akan party,

00:48:29 Justin Kodria, Ephraim Pong says so."

00:48:32 And then, "Sort cut for Agenda 111 hospital

00:48:35 in Adenta municipality."

00:48:36 I'll be going there for sure.

00:48:38 "And embrace CRM to prevent accidents and improve LPG access

00:48:41 NPA boss says so."

00:48:44 So rise to the occasion and stop blaming politicians.

00:48:49 USAID also says that,

00:48:51 "The United States Agency for International Development

00:48:53 has called on Ghanaians to take up the challenge

00:48:55 of ensuring they achieved the desired transformation

00:48:58 in their communities and not blame political leaders

00:49:01 for their developmental challenges.

00:49:02 It said, "Despite the many projects

00:49:04 and development interventions in the country,

00:49:06 there was no significant impact on society

00:49:10 because most times we think

00:49:12 that it is somebody's responsibility to do it."

00:49:15 Mr. Paul Napare, the agreement's office says,

00:49:18 "Representative of the USAID

00:49:20 or Ghana Strengthening Accountability

00:49:21 in Ghana's educational system activity

00:49:24 made the call in Waa during the regional launch

00:49:26 of the USAID's SAGES activity."

00:49:30 But then that also brings me to this interesting subject.

00:49:33 In recent times, we've had the head

00:49:34 of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr. Tremme,

00:49:36 if you are here in the studio,

00:49:37 and he's on the papers today.

00:49:39 "HIV/AIDS donor support drops 75%.

00:49:43 We need help from the private sector."

00:49:45 Of course, he sat right here in the studio,

00:49:47 told me about concerns with what government is giving them,

00:49:50 how it's impacting work,

00:49:52 how it is letting a lot of people

00:49:54 who perhaps don't even know they have it,

00:49:57 they are just out there unwittingly or wittingly,

00:50:00 spreading it, how some people who should be coming

00:50:03 are not coming on the back of some of these challenges.

00:50:05 So private sector, this is another call.

00:50:08 While we plead for you to support

00:50:10 those who are affected by the spillage,

00:50:12 HIV/AIDS is also on the rise.

00:50:15 There's a spike.

00:50:15 If you can help in that direction,

00:50:17 the Ghana AIDS Commission is calling on you.

00:50:20 "NPP can never be tagged as an Akan party,"

00:50:22 Justin Kodias says so.

00:50:24 And he says, "The NPP has made history

00:50:27 by electing Vice President Dr. Mohamedou Baoumia,

00:50:29 a non-Akan, to lead the party

00:50:31 into the 2024 January election as its flag bearer."

00:50:35 Okay, I think I'll reserve my comments on that.

00:50:41 Any quick thoughts on any of the stories we've done?

00:50:44 - Well, I mean, Benjamin, it's clear that

00:50:48 the new patriotic party is forging ahead

00:50:50 on a strong journey of possibilities.

00:50:53 It's also very clear that once we are done

00:50:56 with our primaries, we have a clear leader,

00:51:01 which is Al-Hajji Dr. Mahmoud Baoumia,

00:51:03 to lead the party into victory.

00:51:06 We also have some more internal elections to do.

00:51:09 Our parliamentary elections is just stemming at us.

00:51:13 Over the next few months,

00:51:16 you will realize that often constituencies

00:51:18 would be going into their primaries

00:51:21 to select the candidates for the parliamentary in 2024.

00:51:25 And then also places with sitting MPs as well

00:51:29 will be going into an election in February 2024.

00:51:32 And I mean, I would be also putting myself up

00:51:36 on that journey of possibilities

00:51:38 with the good people of Ibwaka North.

00:51:41 And my prayer and hope is that with all the conversations

00:51:45 that I'm having with an overwhelming number of 524 delegates,

00:51:50 they will vote and consider me as their next representative

00:51:55 in the ninth parliament,

00:51:57 where it's gonna be an extremely,

00:51:59 extremely engaging parliament to make the laws

00:52:03 and implement government policies

00:52:05 and ensure that this government strives on.

00:52:08 - All right, the Ghanaian publisher,

00:52:09 the only one I'll single out,

00:52:11 election was free and transparent.

00:52:13 That's according to Kennedy, a Jap quote.

00:52:15 I'll leave it there and just wrap with this bit.

00:52:18 I'm going to get on Kolibu.

00:52:20 Last week Friday, my focus was on Kolibu

00:52:22 for my blunt thoughts.

00:52:24 The former Kolibu CEO, page six of the daily guide,

00:52:28 brings relief to patients.

00:52:29 Dr. Felix Anya, a former chief executive

00:52:31 of the Kolibu Teaching Hospital,

00:52:32 has made a generous donation of 100,000 Ghana CDs

00:52:35 to settle bills of new mothers and sick babies.

00:52:38 This kind gesture is aimed at helping patients

00:52:40 in the maternity and children's departments

00:52:43 who are struggling to pay their medical bills.

00:52:46 But having said that,

00:52:47 have you used the road from the SDC to the roundabout

00:52:52 to ICGC, towards the Bukom Boxing Arena,

00:52:55 towards, in fact, right in front of Kolibu,

00:52:58 there's a crater in front of Kolibu.

00:53:01 I spoke about this on Friday

00:53:02 because if you have an emergency

00:53:05 and even an ambulance is taking you on that stretch,

00:53:07 you could die before you get to the hospital.

00:53:10 The roads are terrible through Abusokai, all the way going.

00:53:13 The Renault department, do you know it was shut

00:53:15 for five months because of a lack

00:53:17 of four million Ghana CDs?

00:53:18 That's only eight V8 vehicles,

00:53:19 the one your political friends like to ride.

00:53:22 Where do we prioritize?

00:53:24 And there's equipment at Kolibu.

00:53:26 The 640 slice machine, $1 million,

00:53:29 one of only three in Africa.

00:53:31 Another equipment costing 1.5 million, some $100,000.

00:53:36 They've broken down, they offer core services.

00:53:40 They've broken down some for two years,

00:53:41 some for about a year, some for many months.

00:53:44 No one is paying attention to them

00:53:46 and people are going to these places.

00:53:47 Mind you, people come to Ghana for medical tourism.

00:53:50 In fact, the UGMC that we keep talking about

00:53:53 refers people to Kolibu.

00:53:54 So you see why sometimes some of us get

00:53:58 quote unquote angry about systems.

00:54:01 Because for some small lapses,

00:54:04 someone will go and die a death

00:54:06 that was not his or her death.

00:54:07 That's the final point I want you to,

00:54:09 in some 30 seconds and then we'll--

00:54:10 - Well, in 30 seconds, there's not much I can say

00:54:12 than to say that I'll get my briefs on Kolibu and Ghana.

00:54:15 - Actually, I'm telling you this too,

00:54:16 that as your government's spokesperson,

00:54:19 I called on the-- - I'll get my briefs.

00:54:20 - I called on the Rhodes Minister.

00:54:22 - I'll get my briefs and-- - Please put in the words.

00:54:24 - I'll get my briefs and come and report

00:54:26 to you and the Ghanian people.

00:54:28 - Thank you very much. - Thank you.

00:54:30 - Paul Grave, Wachadan Kwa, who joined us for this review,

00:54:33 is government's spokesperson on governance and security.

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00:55:26 Thank you for joining.

00:55:27 Up next, we have a serving of sports,

00:55:30 a lot of action, both locally and externally,

00:55:33 and of course, the African Club Championship as well,

00:55:37 Mamelodi Sundowns losing 2-1 in that first leg.

00:55:40 But what will happen in the second leg,

00:55:42 only time will tell.

00:55:43 More in sports up next.

00:55:44 (dramatic music)

00:55:48 Just a few days ago, specifically Saturday,

00:56:09 the New Patriotic Party went

00:56:12 for its National Delegates Congress.

00:56:15 It was an attempt to elect a flag bearer for the party

00:56:17 going into election 2024, which they succeeded at doing,

00:56:21 Vice President Dr. Mahmoud Boumia becoming

00:56:24 the standard bearer, if you like, for the political party

00:56:27 going into that election.

00:56:29 In fact, interestingly, the current president handing over

00:56:34 the baton, so to speak, to Dr. Boumia.

00:56:37 But what does this portend for the New Patriotic Party

00:56:40 in terms of its electoral fortunes going into next year?

00:56:44 Is this the team, at least with the flag bearer,

00:56:48 that can break the eight?

00:56:49 We've put that question out there on social media.

00:56:52 Joy News on Facebook this morning asking you,

00:56:55 can Dr. Mahmoud Boumia lead the MPP to break the eight?

00:57:00 Share your thoughts with us.

00:57:01 But for now, in the studio,

00:57:02 we're going to have a conversation on that,

00:57:04 the wider issues and the narrow issues.

00:57:07 Joining us as guests, Professor Kobi Mensah.

00:57:10 He's a political marketing consultant

00:57:12 with the University of Ghana Business School.

00:57:13 We also have Dr. Michael Ayamga,

00:57:16 a development economist and senior lecturer

00:57:18 at the University for Development Studies in Tamale.

00:57:21 Gentlemen, good morning.

00:57:23 - Morning, and thanks for having me.

00:57:27 - All right.

00:57:28 Dr. Ayamga, I would ask that you just hold on for me.

00:57:33 Professor Kobi Mensah is a bit tied up this morning,

00:57:36 pressed for time.

00:57:37 So I'm going to expend a bit of time on him

00:57:39 and then let him go.

00:57:40 Then I'll come to you, Dr. Ayamga.

00:57:42 I hope that's okay with you, sir.

00:57:43 - That's good.

00:57:46 - Thank you, thank you so much.

00:57:47 Prof, initial thoughts on everything

00:57:50 that happened on Saturday.

00:57:52 So I'm starting from a very wide area

00:57:54 before we narrow it down to the crucial issues.

00:57:56 What was your impression of the Congress of the MPP?

00:57:59 - Thank you.

00:58:01 Thanks to Dr. Ayamga for giving me the platform.

00:58:04 I have a class at eight, so I had to run.

00:58:07 Okay, no, so generally, of course,

00:58:10 the party has done well.

00:58:13 The organization, I think, very much went better

00:58:16 than the super delegate elections way back in August.

00:58:20 So you would say that the party structures

00:58:22 had perhaps learned one or two from the lot of complaints

00:58:26 that actually came after that particular elections.

00:58:30 So of course, in terms of the organization,

00:58:32 you would actually give them a pass for that.

00:58:35 But the things surrounding what you call

00:58:38 the entire organization,

00:58:41 obviously, there had been quite a lot of criticisms

00:58:44 about the strategy in terms of deciding to do it

00:58:49 center by center, as opposed to pulling them together

00:58:52 in a convention, which most people

00:58:55 have actually expressed opinions on that,

00:58:57 including the candidate themselves,

00:58:59 because then it allows room for certain intimidation.

00:59:03 I mean, there are some constituencies

00:59:06 that you saw almost nothing, or not almost nothing,

00:59:10 but nothing for the other contestants.

00:59:12 But Dr. Baume, for example, sweeping the entire slate

00:59:16 in those constituencies, that actually speaks to you

00:59:19 that people are under certain coercion

00:59:22 to express their political views in a certain manner,

00:59:26 especially when you group them in that constituency

00:59:29 by constituency basis.

00:59:31 So perhaps they have to look at that.

00:59:32 That's a bit of a criticism that most people--

00:59:35 - But pressure or not, it was a secret vote,

00:59:37 and the people could have expressed their opinion,

00:59:39 as we saw them do in some interesting cases

00:59:42 in the Ashanti region and in the central region.

00:59:44 So what then was that--

00:59:47 - You would think that's the case.

00:59:48 Ideally, you would think that's the case.

00:59:50 But of course, internal party structures

00:59:52 are completely different.

00:59:53 I mean, these people are easily targeted,

00:59:57 unlike national elections where you could say

00:59:59 that there are some floating voters here and there,

01:00:01 so you wouldn't be able to even get,

01:00:03 because it's a secret ballot.

01:00:05 But you know, when it comes to party elections,

01:00:07 almost everybody knows everybody,

01:00:09 just like a small community, a village community.

01:00:12 And so people know who is Alan Bacchus,

01:00:15 people know who is Kennedy Japone Bacchus,

01:00:18 people know who is Baume Bacchus.

01:00:21 And so with that particular foreknowledge,

01:00:23 you would know that perhaps if you vote

01:00:25 according to, or not according to

01:00:28 what the pressures want you to do,

01:00:31 then you are easily targeted and identified.

01:00:33 And that's why we say that doing it center by center

01:00:36 is not an ideal position, is not a suitable position

01:00:39 to remove the political pressures on people.

01:00:42 But having said that, the vote itself is quite interesting.

01:00:45 If you look at Baume and City 1% against the Tau-Tex 75,

01:00:50 it was highly publicized that he was gonna get 75 and above.

01:00:54 Some people had even stated that

01:00:58 if he gets anything beyond 75, that's not a good poll.

01:01:01 All right, but of course, the evidence is that he got 61.

01:01:04 And then Kennedy Japone, who people didn't really think

01:01:08 from where he was coming, could pull that much.

01:01:11 He got 37.

01:01:12 - And some had said, the projections were that

01:01:15 he would even struggle to get between 20 and 25%.

01:01:18 He got over 37%, almost 40%.

01:01:21 - Absolutely, and then let's break up the vote itself.

01:01:25 I mean, in marketing, we have something called market share.

01:01:28 If you go to the market and you look at the total pool

01:01:31 of the market size, we look at the share that you have.

01:01:35 But in this case, in the Baume's case, for example,

01:01:37 we can actually align it to what we call co-branding.

01:01:41 If you have a very huge machinery behind you,

01:01:45 like the office of the president, which everybody knows,

01:01:48 you have so many parliamentarians

01:01:53 leading the Baume's campaign.

01:01:54 You have almost all the state officers

01:01:59 or the most important personalities in the party

01:02:02 leading Baume's campaign.

01:02:04 That's a huge coalition that you have.

01:02:07 So such a size of a coalition can produce 61%.

01:02:10 Then you would have to ask yourself,

01:02:13 which part of that 61 is actually the contribution

01:02:16 of Baume's own strength?

01:02:18 So for me, I look at it as a very reduced legitimacy

01:02:22 and rather legitimacy swings to Kennedy Japan side.

01:02:25 Of course, you could also argue that his backers

01:02:28 could be a coalition of his own strength

01:02:31 plus Alan's backers because they had actually come out,

01:02:34 but of course they have to vote.

01:02:35 So they might have actually pledged their support

01:02:38 logically to Kennedy Japan, for example.

01:02:41 So I find it very interesting knowing the true strength

01:02:46 of Dr. Baume, given that he has a very huge, large coalition,

01:02:51 very powerful coalition behind him,

01:02:53 and he could only pull 61%.

01:02:55 It's quite interesting there.

01:02:56 So you realize that the legitimacy itself

01:02:58 is actually behind Kennedy Japan.

01:03:00 He has a huge stakes now.

01:03:02 If you're talking about the big weights in MPP,

01:03:07 you cannot discount Kennedy Japan, for example.

01:03:10 - Now, looking at the voting pattern across the regions,

01:03:14 we saw some shocking events in the Ashanti region

01:03:17 where people swung wildly for Kennedy Japan.

01:03:21 In fact, the majority leader himself conceded

01:03:23 that some of the votes took him by surprise

01:03:26 in the Ashanti region because it was supposed

01:03:28 to be a done deal for Dr. Mahmoud Baume.

01:03:31 Same happened in the central region

01:03:33 where in some instances the gap, the spread

01:03:35 was almost 700 for Kennedy Japan.

01:03:39 But on the back of the polls, the votes he secured,

01:03:44 what does this really mean in terms of the unity of the MPP?

01:03:49 After this, they said, and we are united

01:03:51 and we are forging ahead.

01:03:52 In fact, Kennedy Japan said, let me just find,

01:03:57 election was free and transparent.

01:03:59 That was what Kennedy Japan said.

01:04:00 The prelude to that, in the prelude to the election,

01:04:03 we had had Boakye Jaco, the likes of Dr. Friar Coteau,

01:04:07 the likes of Francis Adayemu, Kennedy Japan himself,

01:04:11 Alan Tremateng saying this process has been rigged,

01:04:15 it's manipulated, it is influencing people

01:04:19 in a certain way, and it's not going to be fair.

01:04:24 On the back of all these dynamics,

01:04:26 Alan has formed his movement.

01:04:28 Ken has run this two-horse race, if you like,

01:04:32 and come out proving a point.

01:04:34 Where does that leave the MPP in terms of unity

01:04:38 and possibly breaking the eight?

01:04:40 - Well, of course, you can actually explain

01:04:44 or analyze the unity in terms of two folks.

01:04:47 One, of course, usually post-election unity

01:04:50 is as a result of the behavior of the candidates themselves.

01:04:54 So if the candidate had actually,

01:04:56 or had demonstrated anything contrary to their acceptance,

01:05:01 then of course you could actually see the fragility

01:05:04 in the rank and file of the MPP.

01:05:08 Well, fortunately for them, the main protagonist

01:05:11 seemed to have accepted the leadership

01:05:15 or the winning of Dr. Baume, for example.

01:05:18 So you would not really see it from the top,

01:05:20 and you would not see an ostensible kind of disunity

01:05:24 amongst the party folks because the key protagonists

01:05:28 have actually accepted, and so you wouldn't see that.

01:05:31 But the other side of it is about the harboring

01:05:34 of disunity or unhappiness or the apathy

01:05:38 from the part of the followers themselves,

01:05:40 whether if their leadership had actually accepted it,

01:05:44 whether they personally would accept it,

01:05:46 that's a different kind of conversation.

01:05:48 And that is what usually lead to party apathy

01:05:51 that the supporters do not come out to vote.

01:05:54 Now, I ask myself, if people had been so coerced,

01:05:58 influenced with money, which ostensibly

01:06:01 was on the TV screens, in radio,

01:06:04 a lot of people seem to have been hugely influenced

01:06:08 by what they call TNT.

01:06:10 Now, in the general election, I don't think

01:06:13 there's gonna be any TNT for anybody.

01:06:15 So if the parties themselves have actually

01:06:18 sort of undermined their own authority

01:06:22 by giving people TNT to motivate them to come to the vote,

01:06:25 to what extent would they stay out

01:06:27 or be apathetic to the process

01:06:30 during the 2024 December election?

01:06:33 So that is very, very crucial,

01:06:35 because you have motivated people to come to vote for you.

01:06:38 Would they have come if you hadn't actually given them money?

01:06:41 Perhaps yes, because the majority of them

01:06:43 expressed disappointment, not even having money

01:06:45 in the first place or some of the money in the first place.

01:06:48 That tells you that, yes, we can talk about unity

01:06:51 in the universal sense, i.e. the leaders have accepted,

01:06:55 everybody seems to be hunky-dory going on,

01:06:57 but in the heart of the supporters of the people,

01:07:02 if they hadn't been motivated by money,

01:07:04 perhaps they wouldn't have come.

01:07:05 So what will be the attitude towards the MPP's own

01:07:08 voting counts of voter share come December 2024?

01:07:13 That's very crucial for them.

01:07:15 - Now, let's look at the fragility, how weak Dr. Baumeier is,

01:07:19 because some have painted the picture that, look,

01:07:22 Kennedy Japone came out of nowhere,

01:07:24 was a dark horse, and he secured almost 40%.

01:07:29 Of course, you put that side by side

01:07:31 with John Romani Mahama in his internal election,

01:07:35 securing about 98.9% of the vote.

01:07:40 And some are projecting that Dr. Baumeier

01:07:44 is a weak candidate because of the baggage he comes with,

01:07:48 because of this performance, which was not foreseen

01:07:51 by the party, because all, like you mentioned,

01:07:54 all of those we interacted with from the party,

01:07:56 whether from his camp or otherwise,

01:07:57 said he wouldn't secure anything, anything less than 70%.

01:08:02 61% was what he secured.

01:08:05 Now, could it be that from where you sit,

01:08:08 you're thinking the party has fought the battle,

01:08:11 or Dr. Baumeier has won the battle,

01:08:13 but in terms of winning the war,

01:08:15 it could be far more problematic?

01:08:17 - Absolutely.

01:08:19 I mean, I see it as a very weak legitimacy

01:08:24 because obviously we have that level of expectation for him.

01:08:29 And as I said earlier,

01:08:31 look at the giant leading the campaign.

01:08:33 You know, usually when we're doing political campaigning,

01:08:37 we have a certain candidates or a certain personality,

01:08:41 although they may not be the candidate themselves,

01:08:43 but they whip votes to your direction.

01:08:46 I mean, my own PhD actually sits on MPP strategy

01:08:49 in 2000 elections.

01:08:52 And so we looked at what we call the homeboyism

01:08:56 kind of in idea to see the pillars that actually went on

01:09:00 to kind of mobilize support for the candidate.

01:09:04 That also is a factor in your winning.

01:09:06 So if you look at one,

01:09:08 the kinds of endorsers who actually followed

01:09:12 Baumeier's campaign and make sure that they could articulate

01:09:15 his appeal to the voters or to the delegates,

01:09:19 and then you see other people who hadn't actually had

01:09:23 that kind of endorsement and still he came out with 61%.

01:09:27 I think it's quite interesting to note

01:09:30 that it's a very reduced legitimacy.

01:09:32 And that's why we're talking about the idea

01:09:34 that he hasn't had a absolute grip over the party.

01:09:38 Now, whether that would actually spell disunity,

01:09:41 I don't think so because as I already said,

01:09:44 the leadership had actually accepted

01:09:46 his leading of the party.

01:09:49 But as to whether that would reflect in the vote,

01:09:51 it's questionable.

01:09:52 I mean, in terms of the broader, you know,

01:09:56 legitimacy that he could actually secure

01:09:58 when his own team have touted 75 plus or at least 75.

01:10:03 And that disappointment had been expressed

01:10:09 by the majority leader.

01:10:11 And not only him, I know quite a lot of people,

01:10:14 prominent MPP people, being parliamentarians or party folks,

01:10:18 who had led this campaign had believed

01:10:20 that in their constituency,

01:10:21 they're gonna whitewash the competition,

01:10:23 but it never happened.

01:10:25 And I'm sure that inside the campaign,

01:10:27 they're very disappointed as they're looking at

01:10:29 its possible implication on his leadership

01:10:31 and then in December election next year.

01:10:33 - Just to leave you with these,

01:10:35 because I know you have to go in the next two

01:10:37 to three minutes, you talk about a reduced legitimacy

01:10:41 for Dr. Mohamed Boubidou, but to be fair to him as well,

01:10:44 you would also notice that you can even say

01:10:46 he's the strongest of the weakest in the sense that

01:10:49 for first time contenders, those who are, you know,

01:10:52 engaging in the primary, the presidential primary

01:10:55 for the first time, this is the highest

01:10:57 any of those have got in the MPP.

01:10:59 So you can give him that.

01:11:00 But the two questions I'll throw at you,

01:11:03 what if there were an Alan Kennedy, not Alan,

01:11:07 Bamiya Kennedy-Japon pairing for election 2024,

01:11:11 would that put the MPP in a better stead to break the eight?

01:11:16 And then again, Justin Frimpong-Koduya,

01:11:20 the general secretary of the party has said,

01:11:22 the MPP can never be tagged as an Akan party

01:11:25 on the back of the election of Bamiya.

01:11:28 Does this make that assertion correct

01:11:33 with the selection of Dr. Bamiya?

01:11:36 - Well, let me give you an insight in my own PhD.

01:11:38 As I said, my PhD is very much sits on MPP,

01:11:41 strategy in 2000 election, very much the same framework.

01:11:45 When you're going into elections,

01:11:47 you have at least three elements.

01:11:49 You have your presidential candidate,

01:11:51 you have your policy, you have your party,

01:11:53 you know, representing the brand,

01:11:56 the political brand of the political party going forward.

01:11:59 So you're not only looking at the strength of the candidate

01:12:02 and perhaps the possible vice candidate,

01:12:05 but you're also looking at the strength

01:12:08 of your policy brand, all right,

01:12:10 which is your policy credibility,

01:12:12 the policy types and what the target markets

01:12:15 are for those policy.

01:12:17 You're also looking at the brand of the political party,

01:12:19 whether the political party has established track record

01:12:22 that on the foreground of the people's thinking

01:12:25 could actually influence.

01:12:26 The influencing factor is only the candidate strength,

01:12:29 but these three basic strengths, all right.

01:12:31 Now, if you take the MPP currently as we speak,

01:12:35 nobody would tell you that they have policy brand strength.

01:12:38 All right, that policy brand strength

01:12:40 has been reduced because of the Iran promises

01:12:43 that they gave in 2016, 2020 elections

01:12:47 that they didn't deliver.

01:12:49 So policy credibility perspective, you're weak there.

01:12:52 I'm surprised to, actually, I would be surprised to find

01:12:55 that Ghanaians will really believe in total,

01:12:59 like the policy promises that the NDC would offer,

01:13:02 that's what MPP would offer, that's a challenge.

01:13:05 Now you have also the parties, you know,

01:13:08 what do you call, profile.

01:13:09 Now, the party's profile usually is actually taken

01:13:12 from where the party originally came from,

01:13:15 its traditions, its history, its ideology,

01:13:19 and whether those can actually present

01:13:21 quite a brand strength to pull the vote.

01:13:24 And then, of course, you can talk about

01:13:26 a candidate's character in terms of its believability,

01:13:29 in terms of its approachability,

01:13:31 in terms of its ideological basis,

01:13:33 all these ones come to mind.

01:13:34 I mean, I think, you know, going forward to this campaign,

01:13:38 of course, we're not discussing NDC,

01:13:40 but we can make comparison and then compare that

01:13:43 with also Allen, for example,

01:13:45 who is actually going independent.

01:13:46 Now, I think that the MPP has the issue

01:13:49 with the policy credibility brand issue.

01:13:51 They have a candidate problem they have to fix

01:13:53 because their candidate is not the one

01:13:55 that voters believe in.

01:13:57 I'm sure a lot of Ghanaians will tell you

01:13:59 and what they have actually branded in mass.

01:14:01 And then, of course, you have the party track record.

01:14:03 Perhaps the party track record could help,

01:14:05 but there are current, you know, what do you call,

01:14:08 factors that would remind voters

01:14:11 whether the party has a credibility or not.

01:14:13 So I think that they are going into this election

01:14:15 in a very weak position.

01:14:17 - All right, and the Akan party tag, does this wipe it away?

01:14:22 - Well, I think that Justin Kodio was wrong.

01:14:25 Of course, he could have actually misspoke

01:14:28 because he used Akan to represent Ashanti

01:14:30 as opposed to the totality of the Akan people.

01:14:33 But I had always argued that's not the main case.

01:14:36 I mean, if you look at our political history,

01:14:38 we do not have divisions in terms of geographical divisions

01:14:42 or culturally, et cetera.

01:14:44 NBC had gone on to present South-South tickets

01:14:47 on a number of occasions and they've won.

01:14:50 It is because of the perception,

01:14:51 the perception of Akaniste on MPP

01:14:54 is because of their own behavior.

01:14:56 I have almost said every time that why would be,

01:15:01 why would the finance minister keep on naming

01:15:03 its budgetary brand name with Akan name?

01:15:07 What do you call, they call something Obatanpake,

01:15:11 then another time they put another Akan name on it.

01:15:14 These are the behaviors that people are interpreting

01:15:16 and say you are too Akanistic.

01:15:18 It's not because you presented or not

01:15:21 a certain party leader.

01:15:23 Again, I have said that most of the time

01:15:25 when you meet MPP people in a gathering,

01:15:27 they're most likely to speak Trib than English.

01:15:30 Whereas when you go to NBC, it is not.

01:15:33 These are to look at.

01:15:35 And then of course the appointment.

01:15:37 If you check the appointment of the Nenadu,

01:15:39 you would hear a lot of Akan sounding names

01:15:41 than the other tribes.

01:15:42 These are not my words.

01:15:44 If you go and check my transcript

01:15:46 with some of the party top weights

01:15:49 in way down in 2008, when I did my data,

01:15:52 these are some of the things that they themselves refer to.

01:15:55 The reasons why Jacob Echebilamte would want to bring in

01:15:59 quite a lot of people of other sounding names

01:16:02 at the forefront of every press interaction

01:16:05 and actually feel the MPPs in a press interaction

01:16:09 with lots of women were because to reduce

01:16:13 the certain perception.

01:16:14 And when they won in 2000,

01:16:16 they went back on their own framework

01:16:17 and started doing things differently.

01:16:19 That is what is actually affecting people's perception

01:16:22 of the MPP as Akanistic.

01:16:24 Not because they hadn't had a leadership

01:16:27 of a certain extraction as you would call it.

01:16:30 - Prof, we're so grateful for your time.

01:16:32 We've stolen a few more minutes than we planned.

01:16:34 But thank you so much.

01:16:35 - Sorry about that.

01:16:36 Yeah, we'll talk again.

01:16:37 - All right. - Thank you.

01:16:38 - And that is Professor Kobi Menter

01:16:40 of the University of Ghana Business School.

01:16:42 Let's now move on to Dr. Michael Iyengar.

01:16:44 Doc, once more, thank you so much

01:16:46 for being patient with us.

01:16:48 From where you sit, how would you assess

01:16:51 the happenings of Saturday as far as

01:16:54 this presidential primary of the MVP is concerned?

01:16:57 If you look at the numbers in there,

01:16:58 the greatest numbers of delegates coming through

01:17:01 from the Great Accra region with over 39,000 voters,

01:17:05 then the Ashanti region with 35,000,

01:17:07 it continues like that, Eastern, Central, Western.

01:17:09 But were there any surprises in there for you

01:17:12 in terms of the voting patterns?

01:17:14 - Yes, thank you, Ben.

01:17:16 Good morning.

01:17:17 I think Professor Kobi Menter did a lot of justice

01:17:20 to some of the issues that you put forward there.

01:17:24 And most important is the legitimacy behind

01:17:29 Dr. Mahmoud Bahumia going forward.

01:17:33 He is now facing some headwinds

01:17:37 in terms of projecting himself.

01:17:40 I think that the vice president as it stands now

01:17:45 lacks the legitimacy to lead.

01:17:47 If 40% of your own party think that you do not deserve

01:17:52 to be president of this country,

01:17:54 you do not deserve to be a presidential candidate.

01:17:57 Taking that message to the wider electorate

01:17:59 is only going to spell disaster.

01:18:02 I'm in Northern Ghana here,

01:18:03 and I can tell you that the news of his election

01:18:06 is already stale.

01:18:08 There is no excitement behind the election.

01:18:11 And when you are speaking to people in the MVP,

01:18:14 there is this inward inner dissatisfaction

01:18:18 and apprehension with your choice.

01:18:21 Definitely, as Professor Kobi said,

01:18:25 you more or less saw state choreographed elections.

01:18:30 There was a certain fear--

01:18:32 - What did you just call it?

01:18:33 State choreographed elections?

01:18:36 State choreographed elections, is that what you said?

01:18:38 - Yeah, yeah, that's what I said.

01:18:40 - Why do you say that?

01:18:41 - Choreographed.

01:18:42 Everything was done to make sure that vice president,

01:18:46 Dr. Mahmoud Bahumia emerged.

01:18:48 There was certain fear that he wasn't going to emerge.

01:18:52 On weekend, I was on TV,

01:18:55 look at TV here in Tamale

01:18:57 with the counselor of Saudi Arabia.

01:19:01 I think my senior in secondary school, Kamal Dean.

01:19:06 And he said that they had felt some fear in themselves,

01:19:10 and he had to go down to his community in Nantum

01:19:13 to ensure that things went the way they were expecting

01:19:16 because he was supporting Dr. Mahmoud Bahumia.

01:19:19 So you can understand the apprehension, the fears.

01:19:22 Some people have to do something to ensure

01:19:24 that what the people wanted to project

01:19:27 doesn't come to pass.

01:19:28 So that is the problem we are confronted with here.

01:19:32 40% is no small number.

01:19:35 It now means that the machinery, state machinery,

01:19:40 the election machinery that was immersed

01:19:43 in the Bahumia campaign has to sell him,

01:19:46 resell him, rebrand, repackage him to Ghanaians.

01:19:51 And given the baggage on Dr. Mahmoud Bahumia,

01:19:56 he is not going to excite anybody.

01:20:00 I always say that,

01:20:01 I'll outline the three Ps.

01:20:05 I have my own three Ps about the ability

01:20:07 to the candidates to bring back the electorate to the party.

01:20:12 And first, you have to do with the personality

01:20:15 or the people.

01:20:16 And the vice president comes across as someone

01:20:20 who has lost credibility in terms of his ability

01:20:24 to transform his speech into action.

01:20:28 And you also have to look at the powers.

01:20:31 The MPP has naturally been a draw pulley

01:20:34 between Buzia and Dankwa factions of the party,

01:20:38 even though it's not explicitly stated.

01:20:41 It is an unwritten convention

01:20:43 that more or less supersedes their constitution.

01:20:47 That is why after 2007,

01:20:51 when Alan Jumantin was very strong, very popular,

01:20:55 many people bought his message.

01:20:57 The internal structures of the MPP ensure

01:21:01 that candidate Akufo-Addo emerged then.

01:21:06 Even in the buildup to these elections,

01:21:07 you have slogans like "Adurumiso" and all other things.

01:21:11 That "Adurumiso" was driven by the internal convention

01:21:16 of the MPP that is a draw pulley

01:21:18 between the Buzia and Dankwa tradition.

01:21:20 Also the "Dombo" that they are now trying to abstract

01:21:23 Dr. Mahmoud Babwe, which is not actually the case.

01:21:26 It's just a side dish or a dessert

01:21:27 after the meal has been eaten.

01:21:30 So you realize that the claim

01:21:34 of Justin Kodya, General Secretary,

01:21:36 to act that the MPP is not an asymptotic party

01:21:41 is probably a misunderstanding

01:21:43 of the protest of the Dankwa faction,

01:21:47 the Buzia faction.

01:21:48 They have won massively for Alan Jumantin

01:21:52 in dissatisfaction to the attempt

01:21:54 to distort the internal harmony,

01:21:59 the unwritten code that has been governing

01:22:02 the MPP internal elections for several years now.

01:22:05 And they're now getting up and trying to say

01:22:08 that they have to get, let's say, Dr. Mahmoud Babwe.

01:22:12 Many people know, Ben, I should say,

01:22:14 many people know that Dr. Mahmoud Babwe

01:22:16 is Akufo Adutete, and that the powers that he draws

01:22:21 are firmly rooted in the circles and in the structures

01:22:27 that brought President Akufo Adutete to power,

01:22:29 and that has anchored him in government so far.

01:22:33 So he's more or less another Dankwa faction

01:22:36 of the party going in the name of the Tumbo faction

01:22:40 of the MPP, which is the weakest

01:22:43 and probably the most lame structure in the party.

01:22:47 So if you look at these things going forward,

01:22:50 you have to get worried.

01:22:52 Then secondly, thirdly, the third P is the performance.

01:22:55 People don't want us to talk about it.

01:22:58 They say it is a debate for another day,

01:22:59 but it's the debate now.

01:23:01 The performance of the MPP,

01:23:05 whose economic management team has been led

01:23:07 by Dr. Mahmoud Babwe is disappointing.

01:23:11 He is on record to have said that you cannot,

01:23:16 currencies depreciate when the fundamentals are weak,

01:23:20 and that you cannot borrow in this manner.

01:23:24 That manner he was referring to was 122 billion

01:23:28 he inherited from President John Ramani Mahmoud.

01:23:33 - Right.

01:23:35 - As we speak, he took it all the way to 575 billion.

01:23:39 That is almost $50 billion.

01:23:42 If you look at it, how much has he added?

01:23:45 80% to the debt stock.

01:23:47 That record is not something you can sell.

01:23:50 He talked about inflation.

01:23:51 He took an inflation of about 13.3%.

01:23:55 And when we were talking last year,

01:23:57 it was about 54% somewhere.

01:23:59 We are talking about 38.7% as we sit now.

01:24:04 That is several multiples of what he inherited.

01:24:07 He also in that same interview,

01:24:09 talked about that you cannot print money

01:24:12 and expect the economy to be okay.

01:24:16 In 2016, there was zero financing of government budget check.

01:24:21 As part of the IMF program that the NDC has tried to,

01:24:24 there was zero financing of the central government.

01:24:28 As we speak, as of last year,

01:24:30 this government borrowed from the central bank

01:24:33 to a tune of 45 billion Ghana seeds.

01:24:36 That is the record.

01:24:38 You want to talk of employment?

01:24:39 When he left office, President John Ramani Mahmoud

01:24:42 gave him an unemployment rate of 13.3%.

01:24:46 Last year, the Ghana Statistical Survey said

01:24:49 1.7 million people were unemployed.

01:24:54 That is a very huge number.

01:24:55 I should say he got 5.1% unemployment

01:24:59 from John Ramani Mahmoud.

01:25:01 Last year, it was 13.

01:25:03 So if you look at everything that you ought to take

01:25:09 to elections, what made Dr. Mahmoud Babounia

01:25:11 an exciting candidate then, now is very abysmal.

01:25:15 He can't sell that record.

01:25:19 You look at everything from the institutions, they are weak.

01:25:23 And people like to avoid it, but I say it as it is.

01:25:26 You see, he brings on board certain consequences

01:25:31 in Northern Ghana.

01:25:32 I agree that he may keep the Northeast

01:25:37 where he comes from in play for the NDP,

01:25:41 because that was going to slip away

01:25:43 if he had not emerged a candidate.

01:25:46 I think President Akufo-Addo carried the region

01:25:48 by some 10,000 votes, which I think,

01:25:52 given that the vice president was coming from that region,

01:25:54 it was already an indictment on him.

01:25:57 But he will keep that in play.

01:25:59 But he also takes away the significant votes

01:26:04 from the stronghold of the NDP, which is the Ashanti region.

01:26:08 And the numbers coming in, if you are mean,

01:26:11 you will get worried.

01:26:12 We have always talked about the religion factor

01:26:18 from the point of inclusion,

01:26:20 that it has almost become a cliche

01:26:21 that you get a Saudi candidate,

01:26:22 you get a Muslim, not that.

01:26:25 So religion plays a central role in our election.

01:26:28 It has been the vice presidency.

01:26:31 Now it is going to go into the presidency.

01:26:34 That debate is being transported to the presidency.

01:26:38 And you have to ask yourself,

01:26:40 how is the largely Christian South going to accept him?

01:26:44 It has always been Putin, the number two as a Muslim,

01:26:47 so that the largely Muslim North will accept.

01:26:51 How is it going to play?

01:26:53 We already know that that is going to be

01:26:54 a very serious sell to many.

01:26:57 - Right.

01:26:58 - And that is why you see Dr. Mohamed Boumia

01:27:00 trying to be a Christian lamb,

01:27:02 which is a meaningless word.

01:27:03 - Let's look at this interesting bit.

01:27:07 I'll get into the Ashanti and Eastern regions,

01:27:10 pillars for the NDP in any election

01:27:14 and the voting patterns there.

01:27:15 But on that same point,

01:27:16 in terms of the baggage that Dr. Boumia comes with,

01:27:20 you look at, again, the projections.

01:27:23 So Nana Komia, for example, predicted,

01:27:27 he said Dr. Boumia would go beyond 75% on November the 4th.

01:27:32 Then there was also the projection by Samir Ruku,

01:27:36 who managed his campaign.

01:27:37 Any poll that gives Boumia less than 75% is not serious.

01:27:42 There was Ben Efson saying NDP presidential primaries,

01:27:45 Boumia would win with around 75% of votes.

01:27:49 There was also this one, NDP primaries,

01:27:52 Boumia tipped to win 80% of votes.

01:27:54 Of course, we had that UK institution also bring that in.

01:27:58 Then we had the majority leader say that Dr. Boumia

01:28:03 would win with over 75% of votes.

01:28:07 If you look at the voting pattern

01:28:11 and everything that has happened in between,

01:28:13 you spoke about reselling and rebranding the vice president.

01:28:17 Is it possible to rebrand and resell him

01:28:20 on the back of all this and with the latest showing?

01:28:23 - Yeah, exactly, that's my point.

01:28:27 And I said, as to whether you can normally bring back

01:28:30 a disenchanted electorate within your party

01:28:33 depends on these three things I outlined.

01:28:35 And the person of Boumia makes that very difficult.

01:28:38 If you look at Boumia 2016, he had no track record.

01:28:42 He had to take prophecies to predict what he was going to do.

01:28:45 So the excitement around him was the bias

01:28:47 where he was using those economic jargons

01:28:49 that we spoke of when we were in graduate school.

01:28:52 Those were the ones he was churning out in lectures

01:28:54 and getting all the media houses following him.

01:28:59 He has not been able to translate

01:29:00 every single one of them to a policy.

01:29:04 So he is not going to be able to reproject

01:29:08 and rebrand himself.

01:29:09 Anybody trying to rebrand Dr. Mahmoud Boumia

01:29:13 is just like what we saw.

01:29:15 The establishment coming up with polls,

01:29:18 the big weeks within the state machinery,

01:29:22 coming out with election numbers

01:29:25 that were going to favor Dr. Boumia,

01:29:26 trying to further silence the rest,

01:29:29 the voice of the disenchanted people.

01:29:32 And at the end of the day, what happened?

01:29:34 They still managed to come through to tell us

01:29:36 that the candidate you are trying to package for us,

01:29:39 first of all, it's a disappointment to me,

01:29:42 ourselves internally,

01:29:43 and he will not be able to bring in many Ghanaians.

01:29:47 I would like to stress categorically

01:29:50 that all the polls we are seeing

01:29:53 is what the other candidates were talking about,

01:29:55 state-managed elections,

01:29:57 establishment candidate being projected

01:30:01 at the expense of democracy,

01:30:03 at the expense of fair elections.

01:30:06 And fair voting is not the same as fair elections.

01:30:09 We need to create that distinction.

01:30:12 And if you look at all these MPs,

01:30:14 the ministers and the rest who were openly campaigning

01:30:18 for Dr. Mahmoud Boumia and doing everything

01:30:21 to silence the rest,

01:30:22 that makes the elections suspect and seriously problematic.

01:30:27 And as we sit now,

01:30:29 if you are in Northern Ghana and you don't hear anything,

01:30:34 you expect that a northerner has been selected

01:30:38 as a presidential candidate of a major party in the country,

01:30:43 the news is still,

01:30:44 people are worried and people are jittery.

01:30:48 As we sit now and the question you posed to a prov,

01:30:53 an Alan Kennedy ticket would have made the election

01:30:58 a very tough one,

01:31:00 unless something seismic happens,

01:31:02 something apocalyptic happen and we don't vote.

01:31:07 It is fair to say we'll swear in President John Rahmani

01:31:09 Mahama in January 2025, given what we are seeing.

01:31:14 - Wow, that's quite a projection.

01:31:15 You're saying that on the back of everything

01:31:17 that has happened, even without the MPP,

01:31:20 even without Dr. Boumia choosing his running mate,

01:31:23 you are saying that as of now,

01:31:24 it is fair to say that come the 7th of January 2025,

01:31:29 we'll be swearing in John Rahmani Mahama?

01:31:32 - You can hold me to my word.

01:31:34 You can ask me the question on this,

01:31:36 I'll tell you that they have no record to run against.

01:31:40 I also want to give you again,

01:31:42 the issue of us trying to run away from the record

01:31:45 that Dr. Bahamut Boumia was not in charge,

01:31:48 it's President Lakuf Adun has in charge.

01:31:50 And that is problematic.

01:31:51 If you look at one thing that people don't talk about,

01:31:56 is the legitimacy to govern.

01:31:59 Within the party, Dr. Mahamut Boumia

01:32:03 is not empowered by a very solid structure

01:32:05 that he has built, that he's controlled.

01:32:07 He's empowered by a structure controlled

01:32:12 by the Dankwa faction of the party, the Akuf Adun Masinwe.

01:32:17 So he's going to be a stooge of the Dankwa faction.

01:32:21 It's a Dumbo, looks like a Dumbo,

01:32:24 but it's actually a Dankwa.

01:32:26 And that is why we not let's hate.

01:32:27 We still have memories of what happened in the Liman regime.

01:32:32 And we think that this is just a window dressing,

01:32:35 trying to get a big northerner up there

01:32:38 and control him from the backstage.

01:32:40 And Ghanaians are already tired

01:32:42 with a very powerful president.

01:32:44 We don't want to try an extremely weak one,

01:32:46 still controlled by the various systems and structures

01:32:49 that have brought this country to its knees.

01:32:51 There is no missing words about it,

01:32:52 that this is the attempt to have an Akuf Adun third term,

01:32:56 to let what is going on continue.

01:32:58 Let me backtrace this.

01:33:00 When we were doing the e-levy,

01:33:02 president, vice president, Dr. Mahmoud Bawumia,

01:33:06 indicated that the e-levy shouldn't be taxed.

01:33:09 That was his position

01:33:11 as the chairman of the economic management team.

01:33:13 What did the finance minister do?

01:33:15 He brushed it aside and treated him with reckless abandon.

01:33:21 And he could not do anything.

01:33:24 If you are saying that this is not his record,

01:33:26 it means that the vice president has been a stooge

01:33:29 all these eight years,

01:33:30 and has not been able to assert himself

01:33:33 and insert himself in the governance

01:33:35 and policymaking in this country.

01:33:37 He has not been able to bring his policies to bear

01:33:40 in the management of the country.

01:33:44 And he's not being protected

01:33:45 by that same structure that suppressed him.

01:33:48 You want to tell me that we should expect

01:33:51 something different?

01:33:52 No.

01:33:53 So I think that apart from the tough sell

01:33:56 that the MPP has,

01:33:57 he was already going to be a very difficult candidate.

01:34:00 I would have wished that they took this opportunity

01:34:03 and brought in somebody like Alan.

01:34:05 I said, naturally, if you wanted to,

01:34:09 on a normal day,

01:34:11 look at what people normally see

01:34:12 as the factors of a presidential candidate,

01:34:14 and they had to be...

01:34:15 Kennedy didn't follow that order.

01:34:18 He came out satisfied with what was going on,

01:34:21 and was going to fix the economy, whatever it took.

01:34:25 Kennedy, I just came across as the kind of person

01:34:28 who would appoint you in the morning

01:34:29 and fire you in the evening.

01:34:30 And there are many people who think

01:34:31 that this is a need-searching leader.

01:34:33 So the MPP actually shot themselves in the foot

01:34:37 by doing everything to suppress him.

01:34:39 If you look at what happened,

01:34:41 can you imagine what would have been the outcome

01:34:44 if state machinery was not involved in this?

01:34:47 If all the ministers were not part of this?

01:34:50 If people were allowed to vote?

01:34:53 If all the ambassadors and whosoever did not come

01:34:57 from wherever they went with their constituencies

01:35:00 to threaten the people?

01:35:01 And you know, in general party elections,

01:35:03 you know who is voting, you know who is who.

01:35:05 And it's very easy to oase them.

01:35:07 - All right.

01:35:08 - It was a very, very state-choreographed elections.

01:35:13 That was when it happened.

01:35:17 - All right, state-choreographed elections, you call it.

01:35:20 Let's head to the Ashanti region now,

01:35:22 and here's why it's crucial.

01:35:24 Because the results that came in,

01:35:26 you would realize that Kennedy-Japone

01:35:30 polled over 11,000 votes.

01:35:32 We also saw Dr. Baumeer polling over 22,000 votes.

01:35:36 And that's part of why we're taking our citizens microphone

01:35:38 to Kumasi and the Ashanti region,

01:35:40 to gauge the sentiments of people in that region

01:35:44 on the back of the election of the flag bearer for the MPP.

01:35:47 Nana Bwache, my colleague is standing by.

01:35:50 Nana Bwache, what can you share with us

01:35:52 basically what is the feel in Kumasi

01:35:55 on the back of Saturday's monumentous event?

01:35:58 - All right, so Benjamin, for the very first time,

01:36:11 we would have a non-Akhan leading

01:36:13 the governing New Patriotic Party

01:36:15 into the crucial 2024 presidential election.

01:36:19 And Dr. Laj Mahmood Baumeer managed

01:36:21 to garner some 22,000, over 22,000 votes

01:36:26 against his closest contender, Kennedy Ohine-Japone,

01:36:29 the member of parliament for Assin Central,

01:36:31 who also had over 11,000 votes.

01:36:34 Although we had two candidates

01:36:37 tracing their roots into the Ashanti region,

01:36:40 i.e. Dr. Efre Akoto and then Francis Adeyemu,

01:36:43 the former member of parliament for KwaDaso and Mampong,

01:36:45 respectively, Dr. Laj Mahmood Baumeer

01:36:48 managed to win the Ashanti region.

01:36:51 Although we had these two candidates

01:36:54 coming strongly from the Ashanti region.

01:36:56 Today we'll be taking reactions

01:36:58 from some residents in the Ashanti region.

01:37:01 I'm currently in the Aswanse constituency,

01:37:03 the constituency well known to be that of the NDC,

01:37:07 specifically that of the former minority chief whip,

01:37:11 Honorable Muntaka.

01:37:13 Let's get the reaction from some residents

01:37:14 in the Ashanti region.

01:37:15 This woman here already is flanked in white and blue,

01:37:18 the colors of the New Patriotic Party already.

01:37:20 Maame, Dr. Mahmood Baumeer

01:37:23 winning the Ashanti region Saturday,

01:37:25 how do you feel after this victory for Dr. Mahmood Baumeer?

01:37:28 Because we know he's not an Ashanti.

01:37:30 (speaking in foreign language)

01:37:35 News.

01:37:37 (speaking in foreign language)

01:37:41 (speaking in foreign language)

01:37:45 (speaking in foreign language)

01:37:49 (speaking in foreign language)

01:37:54 (speaking in foreign language)

01:37:58 (speaking in foreign language)

01:38:02 (speaking in foreign language)

01:38:06 (speaking in foreign language)

01:38:10 (speaking in foreign language)

01:38:14 (speaking in foreign language)

01:38:19 (speaking in foreign language)

01:38:24 (speaking in foreign language)

01:38:28 (speaking in foreign language)

01:38:35 (speaking in foreign language)

01:38:48 (speaking in foreign language)

01:38:51 (speaking in foreign language)

01:39:03 (speaking in foreign language)

01:39:07 All right, so as a proud member of the New Patriotic Party,

01:39:30 she is saying that regardless of the tribe

01:39:33 of the newly elected flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party,

01:39:36 as an account, she believes that definitely

01:39:39 they are going to work towards victory come 2024.

01:39:42 She says the aspirants or the other candidates

01:39:44 who joined Dr. Al-Haj Mahmood Baumeer

01:39:46 during the just-ended MPP presidential primaries

01:39:49 should rally their support behind

01:39:51 the newly elected flag bearer for victory 2024.

01:39:54 But then I have another gentleman here with me.

01:39:57 How do you feel after the New Patriotic Party delegates

01:40:00 elected Dr. Al-Haj Mahmood Baumeer as the new flag bearer,

01:40:04 especially not tracing, somebody not tracing his roots

01:40:07 to the Ashanti region or any other Akan region?

01:40:10 - Well, as my own opinion, I'm very, very happy

01:40:15 to see Dr. Mahmood Baumeer won the election

01:40:18 as a flag bearer, but, and I'm also happy

01:40:22 because he was being, Ashanti was being tagged

01:40:25 as an MPP party, being criticized,

01:40:28 and he's been dominated by the Ashanti or Akans.

01:40:31 That's not the perception, but now MPP,

01:40:33 I expected that MPP party is not for a traditional

01:40:38 or an Akan political party.

01:40:41 So I'm very, very, very, very happy that they were able,

01:40:44 myself, I'm a delegate.

01:40:46 - Oh, really, you're a delegate?

01:40:46 - Yeah, I'm a delegate.

01:40:47 I'm a post-H.E.U. organizer at Al-Kotila in Malaga.

01:40:51 We came together and look at the person

01:40:53 that who is going to help us break in the eight,

01:40:55 and looking at Dr. Al-Haj Mahmood Baumeer,

01:40:57 he have really shown a commitment that he can do it.

01:41:00 You can't estimate his capacity of being a vice president,

01:41:03 looking at him as a vice president,

01:41:05 what he was able to contribute to the party

01:41:07 will really help us to break in the eight.

01:41:10 So I'm really, really happy.

01:41:12 - So let's look at the fact that 2024 is going to be

01:41:14 a very crucial year for the new patriotic party.

01:41:17 It's not going to be an easy run for the NDC, though.

01:41:19 But then is Dr. Mahmood Baumeer gonna garner

01:41:23 some huge votes from the Ashanti region

01:41:26 and make it a win for the new patriotic party?

01:41:28 Because looking at the previous elections,

01:41:30 in the 2020 election, you had over 1 million votes,

01:41:33 in the 20 to 16 election, yes.

01:41:35 The NDP won with some over 1 million votes.

01:41:37 Do you think that that can still happen

01:41:39 with Dr. Al-Haj Mahmood Baumeer?

01:41:41 - Looking at the good work that the NDP government have done

01:41:45 and having Dr. Mahmood Baumeer to lead the Frab

01:41:48 leadership going to election 2024,

01:41:50 I think we'll definitely make a victorious victory

01:41:54 coming 2024.

01:41:55 Dr. Mahmood Baumeer is the right candidate as now.

01:41:58 Looking at what come to the northern region,

01:42:00 you can observe it yourself,

01:42:01 this election that we just conducted two days ago.

01:42:04 Look at the massive improvement came from northern region.

01:42:07 And northern region have been the strong area for NDC

01:42:11 and the Zongo communities.

01:42:12 Even I'll tell you yesterday,

01:42:13 I have a lot of people who are NDCs who call me,

01:42:16 congratulating them because they were not expecting

01:42:18 that we would vote for Dr. Al-Haj Mahmood Baumeer

01:42:20 to be our fourth brother.

01:42:22 So this is an improvement for us.

01:42:23 We will definitely break the eight

01:42:25 because Dr. Mahmood Baumeer is going to come first.

01:42:27 A lot of votes, I'm saying,

01:42:29 is going to be more than over that 1 million vote

01:42:32 that NANAD won in 2016.

01:42:34 - All right, so reactions of some residents

01:42:37 in the Ashanti region as to the outcome

01:42:39 of the 2023 NPP presidential primaries.

01:42:43 But unless they'll get others to share their thoughts with us,

01:42:46 how do you feel after the NPP elected Dr. Al-Haj Mahmood

01:42:50 Baumeer as the new flag bearer to lead the party

01:42:53 to the 2024 elections?

01:42:54 Especially somebody who's not an AKAN for the very first time.

01:42:59 - Oh, I'm so happy for them because I'm neutral.

01:43:03 I don't have any party.

01:43:04 But right now, when I see what NPP people doing,

01:43:10 they are doing great things.

01:43:13 We have, they have free education.

01:43:15 They have more achievements.

01:43:17 So if Baumeer is in, I think say,

01:43:20 they will do better than that.

01:43:22 - Is it not something quite surprising to you,

01:43:24 looking at the fact that the NPP has elected

01:43:27 for the very first time a non-AKAN?

01:43:30 - I'm surprised because I don't think

01:43:33 that they will choose Muslim man for the president.

01:43:36 - So what was your reaction when you first heard the news

01:43:39 that Dr. Mahmood Baumeer has won the NPP primaries?

01:43:41 - I was shocked.

01:43:43 - You were shocked?

01:43:43 - Yeah.

01:43:44 - Why were you shocked?

01:43:45 - Because I even shout, say, "Hey, NPP, first time,

01:43:51 "first in history."

01:43:52 And so now, 2025, I vote for them.

01:43:55 - You vote for them?

01:43:56 - Yeah.

01:43:57 - Because they elected Dr. Baumeer?

01:43:58 - Yeah, I vote for them.

01:44:00 Because I think say, the NPP people

01:44:02 will only choose AKAN people.

01:44:04 But right now, no, I have seen say,

01:44:07 they always pick from anywhere they like.

01:44:10 - Okay, so looking at the fact that Dr. Baumeer

01:44:12 pulled over 22,000 votes in the Ashanti region alone,

01:44:16 he won the Ashanti region massively.

01:44:18 Was it surprising as well,

01:44:19 the vote he had in the Ashanti region?

01:44:20 - Yeah, I'm surprised too.

01:44:22 Because in Ashanti region, they always tell us

01:44:24 that we love our AKAN people.

01:44:27 But Ashanti region has shown Baumeer

01:44:29 that they love him more than the northern region.

01:44:32 - Oh, really?

01:44:33 Looking at the votes, Ashanti loves Baumeer

01:44:35 more than northern region?

01:44:36 - Yeah.

01:44:37 Yeah, so I would tell him, say,

01:44:39 he should turn her face into Ashanti region

01:44:42 because they have shown him more love.

01:44:46 So we are ready to vote for him, 2024.

01:44:48 We will move from our party to vote for him

01:44:51 to become a president for Ghana, 2024.

01:44:54 - Okay, so that's a thought as to the outcome

01:44:57 of the MPP presidential primaries

01:45:00 held on 4th of November.

01:45:02 Okay, I have another lady here with me.

01:45:03 Dr. Lajimah Mood Baumeer is the new flag bearer

01:45:06 for the new patriotic party.

01:45:08 Looking at the numbers he pulled in the Ashanti region,

01:45:11 over 22,000 votes against his closest contender,

01:45:14 Kennedy Ohine Japon, who had over 11,000 votes.

01:45:16 He won massively in the Ashanti region.

01:45:18 And although formula was not a good run for him,

01:45:21 do you think that not choosing a candidate for the MPP

01:45:26 can secure victory for the MPP

01:45:28 going into the 2024 general elections?

01:45:31 - Yes.

01:45:32 MPP is a national party.

01:45:34 And whoever the MPP presents,

01:45:37 the people of Ashanti region are going to vote for him.

01:45:40 Because when you want a development,

01:45:43 it is the MPP who brings the developments into the country.

01:45:47 So Dr. Mood Baumeer will win the election in 2024.

01:45:50 - Were you not surprised when you first heard

01:45:53 of the numbers he had garnered from the region?

01:45:56 22,000, that's quite huge.

01:45:58 Were you not surprised?

01:45:59 Although you believe that the MPP is a national party,

01:46:02 did it not come as a surprise to you?

01:46:04 - No, it didn't come as a surprise to me

01:46:07 because during the August 26th election,

01:46:11 they had 97 votes in Ashanti region.

01:46:14 And I knew it is going to be translated

01:46:16 into the November 4th election.

01:46:18 So I was not surprised at all

01:46:20 because MPP is a national party.

01:46:22 And then the people of Ashanti region will say,

01:46:25 "Ashanti nkai."

01:46:27 And they said that because when you come to Ashanti region

01:46:31 and then you live with them in harmony,

01:46:33 they will not even remember that you are not an Ashanti.

01:46:36 When it comes to vote, they will vote for you.

01:46:38 - All right, so let's look at 2024.

01:46:40 That's the bigger picture.

01:46:41 That's the most crucial elections ahead of us.

01:46:43 2024, two northerners, Dr. Aladji Mahmoud Bamiya,

01:46:47 John Jemima Animama from the NDC,

01:46:49 and Dr. Mahmoud Bamiya, yes, from the New Patriotic Party.

01:46:52 How is it gonna look like?

01:46:53 How have you pictured 2024?

01:46:55 - 2024 election is going to be an interesting election.

01:46:59 Why?

01:47:00 Because MPP has never presented an AKAN candidate before.

01:47:04 And when you come to Ashanti region,

01:47:08 it's an AKAN-dominated region.

01:47:11 So for us in the Ashanti region,

01:47:15 we know Dr. Mahmoud Bamiya is not going to get

01:47:18 anything less than 80% in Ashanti region.

01:47:21 And then in the northern region,

01:47:24 this is the first time MPP has presented a northerner.

01:47:28 So in the northern region,

01:47:29 they are going to compare the two candidates.

01:47:32 Who is bringing more to the table?

01:47:35 And when you look at John Mahmoud and Dr. Aladji Mahmoud Bamiya,

01:47:39 John Mahmoud is far, far behind Dr. Aladji Mahmoud Bamiya.

01:47:44 So it is the northerners who are going to decide

01:47:46 2024 election vote.

01:47:48 And Dr. Mahmoud Bamiya has done a lot for the northern region

01:47:50 than John Ramani Mahmoud.

01:47:53 - You have a very beautiful analysis and I love it.

01:47:56 But then let's look at the fact that some people say

01:47:58 without Kennedy or Hinejapone,

01:48:00 it's gonna be a difficult one for Dr. Aladji Mahmoud Bamiya.

01:48:03 Do you also believe in that?

01:48:05 - Yes, because in unity lies strength.

01:48:09 If Honorable Kennedy or Hinejapone does not support

01:48:12 Aladji Dr. Mahmoud Bamiya,

01:48:14 it will be a very difficult election in 2024.

01:48:18 But when you look at his speech on November 4th,

01:48:22 he said he's going to rally behind Aladji Dr. Mahmoud Bamiya

01:48:26 for us to secure the victory in 2024.

01:48:29 So Dr. Kennedy or Hinejapone is behind Dr. Mahmoud Bamiya

01:48:33 and we are going to win the election in 2024, Richard.

01:48:36 - Grateful for your time.

01:48:37 And that is the reactions from some other residents

01:48:40 we are getting in the Ashanti region.

01:48:41 Okay, I have some other one person here with me.

01:48:43 How did you find the MPP presidential election, the results?

01:48:47 (speaking in foreign language)

01:48:48 How did you find it?

01:48:50 - Oh, (speaking in foreign language)

01:48:53 In fact, MPP former had said in about

01:48:56 (speaking in foreign language)

01:49:00 (speaking in foreign language)

01:49:04 (speaking in foreign language)

01:49:32 - Council of Editors.

01:49:34 (speaking in foreign language)

01:49:38 (speaking in foreign language)

01:49:43 (speaking in foreign language)

01:49:47 (speaking in foreign language)

01:49:51 (speaking in foreign language)

01:49:55 (speaking in foreign language)

01:50:14 (speaking in foreign language)

01:50:18 (speaking in foreign language)

01:50:22 (speaking in foreign language)

01:50:27 (speaking in foreign language)

01:50:31 (speaking in foreign language)

01:50:36 (speaking in foreign language)

01:50:40 (speaking in foreign language)

01:50:44 (speaking in foreign language)

01:50:48 (speaking in foreign language)

01:50:53 (speaking in foreign language)

01:50:56 (speaking in foreign language)

01:51:05 (speaking in foreign language)

01:51:12 (speaking in foreign language)

01:51:16 (speaking in foreign language)

01:51:24 (speaking in foreign language)

01:51:32 (speaking in foreign language)

01:51:40 (speaking in foreign language)

01:51:44 (speaking in foreign language)

01:52:11 - So I feel very excited.

01:52:14 I feel very excited when I had the results

01:52:17 because I even expected more.

01:52:19 Because my analysis, I knew Dr. Mahmoud Obaomia

01:52:24 was going to get 80% of the vote.

01:52:27 - By your analysis?

01:52:28 - Yes.

01:52:29 - What analysis?

01:52:30 - You know, we are there, we are the grassroots.

01:52:33 - Oh, I see.

01:52:34 - And we know what is going on behind closed doors.

01:52:36 So all the analysis we did, me and some of my colleagues,

01:52:41 we knew he was going to get 80% of the total election count.

01:52:45 But it's not all the same.

01:52:50 We have already won it, yes, we have won it.

01:52:53 So currently we are looking at how we can break the eight.

01:52:57 And we know it is going to be possible.

01:52:59 A lot of people are thinking it is never going to be possible

01:53:01 but we are going to shock people.

01:53:04 We are really going to shock people.

01:53:05 - Let's look at the Ashanti region,

01:53:07 the votes Dr. Mahmoud Obaomia had in the Ashanti region.

01:53:10 Over 22,000 votes.

01:53:12 His closest contender, Kennedy Ohine Japon,

01:53:15 had over 11,000 votes.

01:53:17 When you had the numbers,

01:53:18 the figures from the Ashanti region,

01:53:20 what was your reaction?

01:53:21 - Oh, I...

01:53:22 - I'll bring you some of the scoop later

01:53:24 from the Ashanti region.

01:53:25 Quite a lot to talk about.

01:53:27 Some positivity from the Ashanti region

01:53:30 when it comes to the election of Dr. Mahmoud Obaomia.

01:53:33 But let's come here into Accra.

01:53:37 And Carlos Caloni is standing by

01:53:39 at the University of Ghana,

01:53:40 specifically Ayiawasa West Wogan constituency.

01:53:43 Now, you would realize that,

01:53:47 in fact, there were some 17,000 plus votes

01:53:51 for Kennedy Ohine Japon here in Accra,

01:53:55 Accra voting.

01:53:56 And just 19,002 votes for Dr. Mahmoud Obaomia.

01:54:00 That was not something that was expected.

01:54:04 We'll try and get things together

01:54:05 and come to the greater Accra region

01:54:08 to find out why this panned out in that direction,

01:54:12 as and when we can connect with Carlos Caloni.

01:54:15 But let me come back to Dr. Ayamba.

01:54:17 Listening to the reactions of some of those

01:54:20 we've interacted with in the Ashanti region,

01:54:22 what is your personal reaction on the back of that?

01:54:26 It's more positive than you would have expected, right?

01:54:35 All right, I think we've lost Dr. Ayamba on the line.

01:54:39 Carlos, if you can hear me,

01:54:40 I hear you're somewhere in the University of Ghana, Lagon.

01:54:44 Share with me what the sentiments of the people are

01:54:48 on the back of the MPP choosing the new flag bearer,

01:54:52 Dr. Mahmoud Obaomia.

01:54:53 - Discussing this, as you can see there in your shorts,

01:54:58 a number of concerns have been raised

01:55:00 whether Dr. Obaomia has what it takes

01:55:03 to actually bring the party together,

01:55:05 the passive cracks that exist in the MPP.

01:55:09 Some are also raising concerns as to whether,

01:55:14 with the popularity he's garnered so far in the MPP,

01:55:17 61 point something percent,

01:55:20 as compared to that of Dramani Mahama,

01:55:23 he'll be able to actually bring the aid for the MPP,

01:55:27 as well as concerns about vote buying

01:55:30 that allegedly characterized the MPP's

01:55:34 presidential primaries over the weekend.

01:55:36 And so students here on the campus of the University of Ghana

01:55:40 have been discussing this issue,

01:55:41 and we have a few of them here to share their thoughts with us

01:55:45 so we understand what they actually make of the process,

01:55:48 and if indeed they believe Dr. Mahmoud Obaomia

01:55:51 has what it takes to actually break the aid for the MPP.

01:55:55 So you're live on Joy News.

01:55:57 You have been following the primaries over the weekend,

01:56:01 and so share with us your thoughts

01:56:03 on what really transpired over the weekend.

01:56:06 - I think everything that happened

01:56:09 is one way or the other known,

01:56:12 because looking at the MPP,

01:56:14 the two major candidates,

01:56:18 which is Dr. Obaomia and then Kennedy Japone,

01:56:21 they were the two people we were all looking out for.

01:56:24 Looking at Obaomia won at the end,

01:56:27 but looking at the votes he put,

01:56:30 it's somehow questionable,

01:56:32 and then it's also commendable,

01:56:36 because looking at a region like the Vota region,

01:56:40 looking at the votes Obaomia was able to get

01:56:42 from the Vota region,

01:56:43 I think it has never happened in the history of MPP,

01:56:48 getting that vote.

01:56:50 So I see Obaomia to be someone coming with a new...

01:56:54 - A new vibe.

01:56:55 - Yes.

01:56:56 - Okay, so you believe that he can really break the eight

01:56:58 for the MPP?

01:57:00 - Breaking the eight is something I can't really see,

01:57:03 because Mahama on the other side

01:57:06 is also a very strong candidate,

01:57:09 and then both Mahama and Obaomia are well-known citizens,

01:57:13 because Mahama was the former president,

01:57:16 and then he's also the vice president.

01:57:18 So if I'm to vote, they've all worked,

01:57:21 and I've seen their work,

01:57:22 so I think I'll weigh both of them,

01:57:24 and I'll know who to vote for.

01:57:26 - So from the history, or just share with us,

01:57:29 if you weigh the two of them now,

01:57:31 between Dr. Obaomia as well as John Dramadi Mahama,

01:57:36 who actually do you think is gonna make it come 2024?

01:57:41 - I can't really say, because that's not...

01:57:45 I don't know someone's else option,

01:57:47 but for me, I'm looking at general figures.

01:57:51 Looking at the NDC primaries,

01:57:53 Mahama, for instance, also pulled quite a huge number of votes

01:57:56 from the Ashanti region,

01:57:58 and then it was also something,

01:58:01 so it's like Mahama pulled votes from the Ashanti region,

01:58:04 Obaomia also pulled votes from the Ghota region.

01:58:07 So I think 2024 election,

01:58:10 it's going to be something we've never seen.

01:58:13 - All right, thank you.

01:58:13 Your name again?

01:58:14 - Ezekiel.

01:58:15 - Okay, so that's Ezekiel's view.

01:58:16 We have other students here

01:58:17 who are also gonna share their thoughts with us.

01:58:20 Do you think Obaomia has what it takes

01:58:22 to break the 8 for the NPP?

01:58:24 - Well, for me personally,

01:58:26 I don't really think he would break the 8,

01:58:29 because looking at Mahama's votes,

01:58:31 he had more votes.

01:58:33 - That's in the NDC?

01:58:35 - Yeah, in the NDC.

01:58:36 And then Obaomia, the NPP, had a bit of a vote,

01:58:41 because 60% is more than 50.

01:58:43 So I think Mahama, the people of Ghana want a change.

01:58:48 So them voting for Mahama, they would want a change.

01:58:52 So I think Mahama would win the 2024 election.

01:58:56 - Is it that Ghanaians want a change,

01:58:58 or you don't think that Obaomia has what it takes

01:59:00 to actually break the 8 for the NPP?

01:59:03 Not bringing in Mahama at all.

01:59:04 I mean, let's look at Obaomia as a person for the NPP.

01:59:08 Do you think he has what it takes

01:59:09 to break the 8 for the NPP?

01:59:11 - Oh, he has what it takes.

01:59:12 Yeah, he has what it takes.

01:59:13 But I feel Ghana wants a change.

01:59:17 So they would go for Mahama.

01:59:19 But Obaomia has what it takes,

01:59:21 because he was able to get more than 50% of the votes

01:59:24 from the people here.

01:59:25 - All right, so your name again?

01:59:26 - I'm Trisha.

01:59:27 - Okay, so Trisha believes Obaomia has what it takes

01:59:30 to actually break the 8 for the NPP.

01:59:34 But the fact that Ghanaians want change,

01:59:36 she believes that it's not likely to actually make it

01:59:39 for the NPP to break the 8.

01:59:41 Let's see another person here.

01:59:43 Give us your name and tell us what you make of this,

01:59:45 whether Obaomia indeed has what it takes to break the 8.

01:59:48 - My name is Mame Kunedu.

01:59:50 And then my view on all this,

01:59:52 I mean, after the election,

01:59:53 Obaomia got 61 plus of the votes from his own people.

01:59:57 And then in a team,

01:59:58 if your people don't support you enough,

02:00:00 the outside world do not support you too.

02:00:02 I feel like he could have gotten more than 61%,

02:00:05 because it looks like part of the people in there

02:00:07 are actually not for him.

02:00:09 Because look at Mahama's votes, 90 plus,

02:00:11 among his own people.

02:00:13 And then Obaomia's votes is somehow average,

02:00:16 that's what I would say.

02:00:17 And then about what it takes,

02:00:19 I don't think he has it.

02:00:21 Because Obaomia is very popular among Ghanaians,

02:00:23 both negatively and positively.

02:00:25 But I think the negative aspect is more, it's greater.

02:00:28 So if Dr. Allan had been present,

02:00:32 I feel like he would have gotten more votes than that 68%,

02:00:35 because where are the rest of the percentages going to?

02:00:39 I'm like, it's 100%.

02:00:41 And then he got 61 point something.

02:00:42 So where is the rest going to?

02:00:44 - But we've seen Kennedy also post some significant votes.

02:00:46 So probably those votes went to Kennedy.

02:00:49 - True, but I feel like if Dr. Allan had been running,

02:00:52 Kennedy would not have gotten that particular votes he got,

02:00:56 because I feel like Allan would have gotten more

02:00:59 than Obaomia had.

02:01:01 So it would have been left with a very small percentage

02:01:03 to say between Dr. Obaomia and then Kennedy.

02:01:07 - Okay, so you don't think Obaomia has what it takes

02:01:09 to break the 840 NPP?

02:01:11 - Honestly, no, because looking at the reputation

02:01:13 of the NPP for the last eight years,

02:01:16 they are in the deep.

02:01:18 Like Ghanaians are somehow mad at the NPP right now.

02:01:21 So if they're looking for a flag bearer,

02:01:22 they should look for someone with less votes,

02:01:24 someone with less negativity.

02:01:26 And Dr. Obaomia is just not that person right now.

02:01:30 In my opinion, I feel like Dr. Obaomia

02:01:32 is not that person for the NPP right now.

02:01:33 - But you believe Allan could have been a better candidate?

02:01:35 - Yes.

02:01:36 - But he also served in this particular government.

02:01:37 - He did, but then as I said, it's an individual something.

02:01:41 We are all in Ghana, but then even though we work grouply

02:01:44 as a country, as a party, individual efforts also matter.

02:01:47 I feel like Dr. Allan's individual effort

02:01:50 didn't really bring more negativity,

02:01:52 but looking at Dr. Obaomia and then Kennedy,

02:01:55 there is too much negativity going around them,

02:01:57 too many rumors, too many wrong moves going around them.

02:02:01 So with Dr. Obaomia representing the NPP

02:02:04 for the next year's election, I don't feel good about it,

02:02:08 but then that's just my view.

02:02:11 - Okay, so what happened?

02:02:11 Your name again?

02:02:12 - Mamey Konedu.

02:02:13 - Mamey Konedu believes that Obaomia

02:02:15 does not have what it takes.

02:02:16 So now we've seen the problem.

02:02:18 What should be the way forward for Obaomia?

02:02:20 What should be his preoccupation now

02:02:22 in order to change the perception of Ghanaians

02:02:25 who believe that he does not have what it takes

02:02:27 to actually break the aid for the NPP?

02:02:30 And so I have with me, can you give us your name?

02:02:32 - My name is Modason Braima.

02:02:34 - Okay, so what do you think Obaomia should be doing now

02:02:37 that a lot of Ghanaians are thinking

02:02:39 that he does not have what it takes to break the aid

02:02:41 for the NPP?

02:02:42 - Right now he should be thinking about

02:02:43 convincing us to trust him,

02:02:45 because Obaomia has so many credibility issues

02:02:49 and so many trust issues,

02:02:51 because he has made a lot of promises from 2008

02:02:55 up until 2012, then to 2016,

02:02:59 so many promises, unfulfilled promises.

02:03:02 I mean, as a random mate, he went on to make promises

02:03:04 as if he was going to be the president.

02:03:07 And people will hold you for your words.

02:03:10 And over those years, he has made pronouncements

02:03:14 that have come now to haunt him,

02:03:17 because we've heard comments of he's saying eight years,

02:03:21 I mean, NDC in government, those in 2016,

02:03:24 yes, they've not been able to transform Ghana.

02:03:27 The question Ghanaians will ask ourselves today

02:03:29 is the eight years down the lane, NPP in government,

02:03:32 have we been able to transform Ghana?

02:03:34 I was at a cross-border stadium and I heard him say

02:03:37 they are going to save Ghana.

02:03:38 I don't know, he was speaking as if

02:03:40 he was still in opposition.

02:03:41 Save Ghana from who?

02:03:42 Currently, you've delved into, I mean,

02:03:47 digitalization all of a sudden.

02:03:49 We knew it to be the economic risk aid.

02:03:52 Today, what has happened to it?

02:03:54 He has not spoken on e-levy,

02:03:55 he has not spoken on, I mean, the road toll issues,

02:03:59 he has not spoken on the Momo,

02:04:00 because he was on, what do you call it,

02:04:02 he conducted an interview to say that Momo--

02:04:03 - You expect him to, you know,

02:04:05 trumpet some of the achievements in those areas?

02:04:08 - He's supposed to convince us why we should trust him

02:04:10 because he has said some things that have not materialized.

02:04:13 He has said some things he was against,

02:04:15 but have been implemented now,

02:04:17 because you are talking of Momo not to be taxed.

02:04:20 You spoke about it, now it has been implemented.

02:04:22 You are not saying anything about it.

02:04:23 E-levy, you are against it.

02:04:25 Road tolls, he was one of the people

02:04:26 who was advocating for road tolls.

02:04:28 Now, the road tolls have been abolished.

02:04:30 We are not hearing from him.

02:04:31 You should tell us, he has a lot of work to do

02:04:33 in convincing us to believe that, yes,

02:04:36 we should take him for his words

02:04:37 and that he will come to fulfill his promises.

02:04:39 - So, you do not think that the victory speech

02:04:42 delivered by Dr. Bormiya was convincing enough

02:04:45 to floating voters, so maybe they will not go

02:04:48 and vote for him come 2024?

02:04:50 - I mean, the only convincing message

02:04:52 in that victory speech was that

02:04:53 everything is possible in life.

02:04:55 You can make it.

02:04:56 But aside that, I don't see any other thing

02:04:58 that's convincing in the speech,

02:04:59 because you have been a random man,

02:05:00 you have been a vice president.

02:05:02 You have, I mean, had your turn

02:05:04 and this is what we get from you.

02:05:06 Why should we take you?

02:05:07 I mean, he comes to say that he has his own vision.

02:05:10 Why do you need to support your president

02:05:13 with your vision to let the country move on?

02:05:17 So, that we'll praise you for all the effort.

02:05:19 But today, price hikes, inflation, I mean,

02:05:22 and you're not even speaking on the tangible issues

02:05:24 that have happened, the things you were against.

02:05:26 So, it leaves much of doubt.

02:05:29 I mean, trust issues, we have personal.

02:05:31 - Do you think the NPP has made a wrong decision

02:05:34 or wrong choice, which actually gonna hunt them

02:05:37 going into the 2024 election, based on what you say?

02:05:39 - So, as for it being a wrong choice,

02:05:42 I think so, because they want to prove their point.

02:05:45 But you see, it is politics.

02:05:47 You are to capture power.

02:05:49 So, whatever it takes for you to capture power,

02:05:50 you have to do it.

02:05:51 And you don't bring the same faces we have seen before.

02:05:54 The same people who have, I mean,

02:05:56 led us into this, I mean, hardship

02:05:59 currently that we are experiencing.

02:06:00 At least we expected a new face,

02:06:02 but well, he's the best candidate

02:06:04 among all the other candidates that we bring on board,

02:06:07 except for the fact that Alan Tremonti broke away.

02:06:09 He would have been maybe a major contender

02:06:11 and maybe a possible candidate for the,

02:06:14 for Balmier's candidature, he was, you know,

02:06:16 trumpeting the good of the, the good policies of NPP.

02:06:20 So, you can see that people are going for him

02:06:22 because he are coming to use the vehicle of the NPP.

02:06:24 And that's what broke in that point down,

02:06:26 because you cannot say that you want to use

02:06:28 the vehicle of NPP, then you are condemning them.

02:06:30 You come and say the party are this, but you see.

02:06:33 - So that did not work for Kennedy

02:06:36 because of his criticism of the party and all that.

02:06:39 - Exactly, exactly.

02:06:40 Because you are doing anti-party,

02:06:41 you are going against the party.

02:06:42 The vehicle you want to use, you are rather destroying it.

02:06:44 So how do we sell the message?

02:06:45 And you know, Balmier is the best candidate

02:06:47 in the sense that, for them,

02:06:48 because us, but not for the nation.

02:06:50 Yes, he can represent the party,

02:06:52 maybe also come and strive, but not for the 2024 election.

02:06:54 - So you do not think that Balmier

02:06:56 will be able to pull a surprise in 2024 election at all?

02:06:58 He cannot break the aid for the NPP?

02:07:00 - Not at all, not at all.

02:07:02 He's just coming to, I mean,

02:07:04 maybe the Northern sector gets some vote,

02:07:06 but right now, the stakes are high.

02:07:08 Unless something untoward happens,

02:07:11 maybe they work hard to reduce the hardship,

02:07:13 then maybe we can have a consideration.

02:07:15 But for--

02:07:16 - Is that a feeling across this campus?

02:07:19 I mean, you live here, you school here,

02:07:21 and tell us how students are really taking this,

02:07:24 winning by Dr. Balmier.

02:07:25 - The issue is that we fill everything in our pockets,

02:07:27 our students as well.

02:07:28 We know what our parents are going through.

02:07:30 We know what they go through day and night

02:07:32 to get us our daily bread, accommodation, and all that.

02:07:36 So that, you know, transits into us.

02:07:38 We know, we feel it as well.

02:07:39 So once, I mean, someone who is a vice president

02:07:43 who has come and, you know,

02:07:45 we've not seen a major transformation as promised,

02:07:47 definitely the mood on campus is not good at it.

02:07:50 Because if you go out there and go and play NPP song,

02:07:52 you may be lynched because they--

02:07:54 - Here on the University of Ghana campus?

02:07:56 - I'm serious about it,

02:07:57 because people are not happy about, you know,

02:07:59 what's going on in the country.

02:08:00 People are not happy about governors.

02:08:01 Even here, accommodation, no one is working for us.

02:08:03 No one is speaking for us.

02:08:05 Government is doing as if they are not seeing to it.

02:08:07 And I mean, every year there's price accommodation,

02:08:10 there's increase in accommodation.

02:08:11 - Thank you.

02:08:12 Thank you, your name again?

02:08:13 - My name is Modest Mbarema.

02:08:14 - Okay, so that is his opinion.

02:08:16 He believes that Balmier has a terrible record

02:08:20 and he does not believe that he can really break the eight.

02:08:23 Let's speak more to some other people.

02:08:26 Okay, let me speak to you first and then I'll come to you.

02:08:28 So now, Balmier appears to have a major task,

02:08:32 you know, based on what we've heard so far.

02:08:34 From where you sit, briefly, what should he be doing now

02:08:37 so maybe he can win Ghanaians back,

02:08:40 so that he'll be able to break the eight for the NPP?

02:08:42 - All right, so I think Balmier should right now focus on,

02:08:45 you know, doing something to change the economy,

02:08:48 rather than focusing on coming into power.

02:08:50 Because I think automatically,

02:08:52 if he focuses on doing something to change the economy,

02:08:55 he's gonna, you know, win people's hearts,

02:08:57 you know, in the 2024 election.

02:08:59 Balmier is the best person they can present,

02:09:04 NPP can present.

02:09:06 So I think right now,

02:09:07 the party should really, really focus

02:09:09 and the current president, Adudi,

02:09:12 he should help Balmier.

02:09:14 - Can he do that in the few,

02:09:15 I mean, just a month to the election?

02:09:17 - Well, you know, you never know.

02:09:19 Last days are always dangerous.

02:09:21 They should do something

02:09:22 because Balmier has been somebody, you know,

02:09:24 and you ask everybody, majority of Ghanaians,

02:09:27 you ask them, "Who is Balmier?"

02:09:29 Then they're like, "Ah, this liar," you know?

02:09:31 So they've painted some kind of pictures in my head

02:09:33 that who Balmier is,

02:09:35 because we've been seeing him saying a lot of things,

02:09:37 but then you check out those things

02:09:39 and then they're not happening.

02:09:40 So of course he's a liar, but--

02:09:42 - So that's your opinion, actually.

02:09:44 Okay, so we cannot say he's a liar.

02:09:45 I mean, yeah, perception out there.

02:09:47 - Yeah, yeah.

02:09:48 - But he has also said things that have happened.

02:09:50 I mean, if you talk about the Free SHS, for instance,

02:09:52 he said it and the Free SHS is on.

02:09:54 So we cannot maybe base on one failure or one challenge

02:09:59 and say that he's a liar, don't you think?

02:10:00 - There's been other things, you know,

02:10:02 confusions with the media.

02:10:03 Like, I mean, Balmier's whole face was like,

02:10:06 - So you think--

02:10:08 - He destroyed his face, you know,

02:10:09 somebody who was gonna run for president,

02:10:10 they knew he was gonna run for president.

02:10:12 They should have protected him

02:10:13 instead of allowing him to make some public statements

02:10:16 and things where people will come back

02:10:17 and say that he didn't do this,

02:10:19 he didn't do that and all of that, no.

02:10:21 They should have just, you know, kept him somewhere

02:10:22 and then allowed him to work, you know?

02:10:25 So right now, Adodee should focus,

02:10:27 it's level, I know, elections are almost close,

02:10:32 but then they should do something

02:10:33 because they can't just sit

02:10:35 and expect Ghanaians to vote for them.

02:10:36 I won't vote for them if they don't do anything.

02:10:38 So they should do something about it.

02:10:40 - Thank you, your name again?

02:10:40 - Moses.

02:10:41 - Okay, that's Moses there.

02:10:43 So let me come to you, your name?

02:10:44 - My name is Gideon.

02:10:45 - Okay, Gideon, I have Gideon here.

02:10:48 And so let's look at, you know,

02:10:51 what the others have been saying.

02:10:53 The fact that they believe

02:10:55 Bamiya has really not managed the economy well.

02:10:57 And so if nothing changes drastically,

02:11:01 it means that he might not be able to break the aid

02:11:03 for the NPP.

02:11:04 Is this an opinion you share?

02:11:06 - Well, before I come back to that,

02:11:08 let me, I have something to say.

02:11:09 And that's, I think what the country needs to do is,

02:11:12 we should start thinking about four to five years

02:11:15 to 10 years, you know, in advanced planning.

02:11:17 So that some of these things will not come to us

02:11:20 as a shock, you understand?

02:11:21 As to what happens in the individual party groups,

02:11:25 I will say, yeah,

02:11:26 and we all witnessed what happened on Saturday.

02:11:28 When the weight that, you know,

02:11:32 is actually Bamiya pulled, you know,

02:11:35 it wasn't anything which is quite shaky,

02:11:37 you understand?

02:11:38 I mean, that can cut people's hearts.

02:11:40 So what I see is there's a lot of work

02:11:43 that needs to be done if they really need to,

02:11:45 you know, break the aid.

02:11:47 So first, you know, looking at the fashionism

02:11:50 that exists within the party.

02:11:52 That's what I can say for now.

02:11:53 - Bamiya has what it takes to bring that fashionism,

02:11:56 I mean, the cracks in the party, to mend those cracks.

02:11:59 - Well, basically, I mean, this is an adult issue.

02:12:02 So basically, I think the stakeholders involved

02:12:04 need to sit down to crack their heads.

02:12:07 I mean, knowing what they want,

02:12:09 then, you know, they can think about it.

02:12:11 I don't, I hope you understand.

02:12:14 - So some of your colleagues are also raising concern

02:12:16 of the vote buying, alleged vote buying that went on,

02:12:18 and they believe that money played a pivotal role

02:12:20 in this particular election,

02:12:22 which could have maybe swayed the vote

02:12:24 or the winning candidate to a certain path.

02:12:27 Is it something you think is a concern

02:12:29 as a young democracy in Ghana

02:12:31 that we're seeing these pictures

02:12:33 where delegates are confirming,

02:12:35 receiving money from us parents and all that?

02:12:37 - Well, I think it's becoming a growing trend,

02:12:39 and over the years, we've seen this behavior

02:12:43 have been surfaced.

02:12:44 And I think it's about time we try to do away

02:12:47 with this monocracy thing,

02:12:49 so that they will take our democracy very seriously.

02:12:52 Because, I mean, it will give room for other people,

02:12:55 I mean, to vote purely on their conscience,

02:13:00 but not as being bought.

02:13:03 You know, they will not have this perception

02:13:04 that I'm being bought to vote, you understand,

02:13:06 in order to protect our young democracies.

02:13:08 That's what I think we have to do.

02:13:09 So we have to invest more in the people

02:13:12 and have good governors, you understand?

02:13:14 Because that's the way forward.

02:13:16 You know, money issue, we can't even put the whole money,

02:13:19 dollar into this country.

02:13:21 So as long as we don't have proper use for,

02:13:23 I mean, where it's going and other things,

02:13:25 I think we may not, it will not yield the result.

02:13:29 - Towards Ghanaians.

02:13:30 - Yeah, towards Ghanaians.

02:13:32 So we should endeavor, we should strive

02:13:36 to grow our young democracy, you understand?

02:13:39 In whatever way, shape, or form it will take.

02:13:42 You know, Rome was not built in a day.

02:13:43 You know, sometimes you could see some people

02:13:45 taking hard blocks and other things

02:13:47 just to build their architecture

02:13:49 or the fiber of the country.

02:13:50 So I think, you know, we know times are hard,

02:13:52 but yes, it's only when we believe in nationalism.

02:13:55 You understand?

02:13:55 So the way forward is nationalism.

02:13:56 What about we can bring everybody on board?

02:13:59 You know, give them their leeway.

02:14:01 - All right.

02:14:02 - Whatever they have, so that they can give to the nation.

02:14:04 You understand?

02:14:08 So two contrasting, very different schools of thought.

02:14:12 We went to the Ashanti region,

02:14:14 and it was more of, oh, Dr. Baumea

02:14:16 is the next president and all of that.

02:14:17 Then we came to Accra, and of course, you know,

02:14:21 no candidate without winning the greater Accra region

02:14:24 has won an election, the presidential election.

02:14:27 We come to Accra to the font of knowledge,

02:14:29 tertiary education, the University of Ghana,

02:14:31 and that is what some students are saying.

02:14:33 In fact, Mami Kunodu, one of those who spoke,

02:14:35 interestingly, had some attention diverted to her

02:14:39 on our social media page,

02:14:41 because a lot of people were saluting her,

02:14:42 saying her submissions are brilliant,

02:14:45 and that she summarized the entire state of the nation.

02:14:48 Then there was that gentleman that followed.

02:14:50 So some, you know, comments that came in.

02:14:52 I'll just take a look at some of them

02:14:54 before I wrap the conversation with Dr. Ayamga.

02:14:57 Nmabia Damba says, "As a northerner,

02:15:00 "I will vote based on competence,

02:15:02 "not because I am a Muslim or a northerner."

02:15:05 This one says, okay, so Simon Birch Kaja says,

02:15:11 "It's funny listening to our brothers in Kumasi."

02:15:13 Well, that's their point of view,

02:15:14 not the real fact or analysis.

02:15:15 Well, everyone is entitled to their point of view.

02:15:18 What you think is not necessarily what others will think.

02:15:23 Then there's this one that says,

02:15:25 "Ken Baumya Allen, they are the same.

02:15:27 "None of them can be president for Ghana.

02:15:30 "They have failed us for years."

02:15:33 More people saluting Mame Kunedu.

02:15:35 And this one says, "You people," that is the students,

02:15:40 "are failing to tell the students

02:15:41 "that Mahama went unopposed."

02:15:43 So he didn't go unopposed, by the way.

02:15:46 Kojo Bonsu contested him.

02:15:47 So definitely he has no one to compete with.

02:15:49 His vote was more than 60%.

02:15:52 Ken contested Baumya.

02:15:54 That's the point you make.

02:15:56 And Florence Zinay sells, or Zinayel says,

02:15:59 "How is Nanado going to help Baumya

02:16:03 "when he couldn't help himself?"

02:16:05 Okay, so those are some of the comments

02:16:08 that have come through.

02:16:09 Dr. Ayamda, you've listened, I believe,

02:16:11 those from the Ashanti region

02:16:12 and those from the University of Ghana campus.

02:16:15 I think the conversation at the University of Ghana campus

02:16:19 was in depth because issues came up.

02:16:21 But what do you make of all of this

02:16:23 and what does it mean going forward for the MPP?

02:16:28 - Yeah, it's just as I expected.

02:16:33 We still think that the Ashanti region

02:16:36 will remain a stronghold of the MPP.

02:16:38 People on the street will still feel

02:16:43 they have a certain obligation

02:16:45 to protect the ideals of the MPP.

02:16:47 That doesn't mean they're going to vote for the MPP.

02:16:50 All we are saying is that by the time elections are done,

02:16:56 campaigning is done,

02:16:57 and they pick Baumya to his performance,

02:17:01 there's going to be a significantly higher number of people

02:17:04 who will drift towards number one, Mahama number two.

02:17:07 There'll be a significantly higher number

02:17:08 of people who will go to vote.

02:17:11 And that is the problem in the Ashanti region.

02:17:14 There's going to be issues of apathy

02:17:16 and discontent with the status quo,

02:17:18 especially given that Dr. Mahama Baumya

02:17:21 have been driven in the establishment express,

02:17:25 a competency express to the flag bearership.

02:17:29 That is going to deflate people.

02:17:32 If you look at what is happening in Accra

02:17:33 and particularly in the University of Ghana,

02:17:36 it boils down to unemployment.

02:17:38 And as I said here, the youth are disenchanted

02:17:41 because they virtually have nothing to do.

02:17:44 They have education, they get degrees,

02:17:46 they have the zeal to start businesses.

02:17:48 Today, you cannot start a business in Ghana.

02:17:51 We are talking about, as I said,

02:17:52 you took unemployment around 5.1%.

02:17:55 Today, we're talking about 13.3.

02:17:57 That is about 273% or so.

02:18:02 Worsening of employment.

02:18:03 You've worsened employment by 270%, that number.

02:18:07 About 1.7 million young people don't have jobs.

02:18:10 And this number is increasing.

02:18:12 You don't expect them to be singing

02:18:14 Hallelujah, Dr. Mahama Baumya.

02:18:18 So those two contrasting issues we see there

02:18:21 is an issue of a stronghold loyalty

02:18:24 to a party and a political system

02:18:26 versus reality in the economy.

02:18:28 And if you not only Accra,

02:18:30 if you take other places in the constitution

02:18:32 where they are not connected to the party

02:18:35 via any other system, but by just how they perform,

02:18:40 you realize that nobody wants to see Baumya again.

02:18:45 And they already face the daunting task.

02:18:48 They are made out of task even harder

02:18:50 by the selection of Mahama Baumya.

02:18:52 And secondly, by the manner in which he was elected.

02:18:56 That is the problem they are confronted.

02:18:57 And that is what is going to be their undoing.

02:19:00 I don't see anything happening between now and elections

02:19:05 because definitely we are at the IMF.

02:19:10 So I think justification to use the IMF

02:19:14 will cease at other things,

02:19:15 except maybe that money has been stashed

02:19:18 under the post banks.

02:19:19 That money can not be spread across the nation.

02:19:22 We saw it in Assen North.

02:19:24 It was testament to the fact that people

02:19:28 can only be influenced monetarily to a certain level.

02:19:31 When it comes to their livelihood

02:19:32 and their life and death issue,

02:19:34 they'll make the right choices.

02:19:35 And I don't think that the MPP has the resources

02:19:39 to do what they did in Assen North across the whole nation,

02:19:42 let alone in way back areas that they have been losing.

02:19:46 So it is going to be a very, very difficult task to them.

02:19:50 They needed a candidate that would bring back energy,

02:19:54 that will bring back joy,

02:19:56 that will harness nostalgia and go on.

02:20:00 The candidate we have now is flat.

02:20:03 The victory is still,

02:20:05 and people are actually not feeling like,

02:20:07 okay, there's hope in the horizon.

02:20:09 But Oumya doesn't reject hope.

02:20:12 He reject hopelessness and despair based on his record.

02:20:16 And yes, he's trying to run away

02:20:17 from the economy to digitization.

02:20:20 And that is like failing the prerequisite of a program

02:20:24 and wanting to get a degree in it.

02:20:26 When you digitize something, it makes it easier.

02:20:29 If you digitize, let's say, your presentation,

02:20:32 it means you can stay in the house

02:20:34 and still on all this program.

02:20:35 If you digitize failure, you're going to magnify failure.

02:20:38 So what is the president going to digitize?

02:20:41 The framework, the input,

02:20:43 the data he's going to put in his digitization framework

02:20:47 is massive failure across all sectors of the economy.

02:20:51 Let me say it without any evocation,

02:20:54 that there is no data, economic data, in 2016.

02:20:59 That was not better than 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023.

02:21:04 You can check it.

02:21:07 So the 2016 that we ran out for

02:21:11 is something we are yearning to have back.

02:21:14 People would rather be in 2016 than this 2023.

02:21:18 And that is the record of Dr. Mahmoud Abawia.

02:21:21 There is no means, no way.

02:21:23 That is the task he has to confront.

02:21:27 He has his work cut out for him.

02:21:30 And I don't think it's a possible task.

02:21:33 - I'll have to thank you, Dr. Ayemga,

02:21:35 though my last ruminations on this.

02:21:39 I've just been taking a look.

02:21:40 I find it curious.

02:21:41 Looking at, of course, the strongholds of the MPP,

02:21:44 Ashanti and Eastern,

02:21:46 you would realize that Kennedy and Yapong,

02:21:48 from the votes cast, secured over 30% of the votes.

02:21:52 So it's like one is to two, thereabouts, the ratio.

02:21:57 And then interestingly, in the greater Accra region,

02:21:59 the difference was less than 2,000.

02:22:03 17,282 versus 19,002.

02:22:06 And then on that basis, you look at the popularity

02:22:09 of the candidate that the MPP has fielded.

02:22:11 But only time will tell.

02:22:13 Come next year, we'll see when the NDC

02:22:16 and the MPP lock horns on the issues.

02:22:19 That's what we are looking for.

02:22:20 Like at the University of Ghana,

02:22:21 it's the issues, the crucial issues, and performance.

02:22:24 What have you done vis-a-vis what you said?

02:22:27 I think that is where the real cookie will crumble.

02:22:30 But Dr. Ayemga, we're grateful for your time this morning,

02:22:32 and we wish you the very best.

02:22:34 - Thank you for having me.

02:22:36 - Dr. Michael Ayemga is a development economist

02:22:38 and senior lecturer at the University

02:22:39 for Development Studies in Tamale.

02:22:41 We also had joining the conversation Professor Kobi Mensah

02:22:45 of the University of Ghana Business School.

02:22:48 That is the first leg of our conversation.

02:22:50 Well, coming up next, after the break,

02:22:53 we're going to bring you updates

02:22:55 on the flooding in communities along the Volta River.

02:22:58 We know of what has happened,

02:23:00 but what is the latest situation there?

02:23:02 We'll be bringing you the scoop after the break.

02:23:07 (upbeat music)

02:23:10 Welcome to the Rawlings Park,

02:23:29 where scores of models graced the runway

02:23:32 with elegance and style.

02:23:36 (upbeat music)

02:23:38 Well, the Brony Waywood 2023 Festival

02:23:48 has brought to life clothes that hitherto

02:23:52 would have been dammed in Ghana's drainage system,

02:23:55 choking, and perhaps causing flooding.

02:23:59 But here, the talented young ones here

02:24:02 have brought life to these clothes.

02:24:04 And now, they are on the runway.

02:24:07 (upbeat music)

02:24:10 What makes this event truly captivating

02:24:14 is the fact that these models are adorned

02:24:17 in unique designs crafted from Sikahan clothes,

02:24:22 popularly known as Obuniweel.

02:24:24 These extraordinary creations are the brainchild

02:24:27 of five talented emerging designers

02:24:30 from the vibrant Kantebantu market.

02:24:32 Amidst the glamour, lead organizer,

02:24:35 Samuel Teng passionately urged industry players

02:24:38 and policy makers to acknowledge

02:24:40 the invaluable contribution of Kantebantu

02:24:43 to Ghana's fashion landscape.

02:24:45 - So Obuniweel October is an urban upcycle

02:24:48 and thrift festival that was initiated last year.

02:24:51 And the whole idea is to celebrate Kantebantu

02:24:53 and Ghana's culture of reuse and repair.

02:24:55 So we are here to celebrate Kantebantu

02:24:57 and Ghana's reuse and repair culture.

02:24:59 What is most significant is that we have designers

02:25:01 from Kantebantu who are very, very talented

02:25:04 and creative individuals who have gone

02:25:06 under two months intensive training.

02:25:09 And today, they're going to reveal to us

02:25:10 their collection that they've been working on

02:25:12 over the last two months.

02:25:13 We also have a pop-up shop where most of the vendors

02:25:18 from Kantebantu are selling their goods here as well.

02:25:21 Most people see what we are doing here

02:25:23 as just, you know, partying and having fun

02:25:25 and just fashion, but beneath the surface,

02:25:28 there's so much that is being done

02:25:29 in terms of environmental activism.

02:25:32 As in, most of these people here,

02:25:33 the clothes that you are seeing here,

02:25:35 the ones you see on the runway,

02:25:36 will most likely have ended up in some dump

02:25:38 or some gutter or a beach somewhere.

02:25:40 But these individuals are talented enough

02:25:42 that these ways that people would not use,

02:25:44 they are finding innovative ways to reuse them

02:25:46 and make them wearable.

02:25:47 Yeah, so we have vendors from Kantebantu,

02:25:50 their aunts and uncles, they are ADAS here

02:25:53 who are ready to mend their clothes for you.

02:25:55 So even if you buy something that is too big,

02:25:57 they'll be there to reduce the size for you.

02:25:59 We also have the upcyclers here

02:26:01 who are doing live demonstrations.

02:26:04 So if you have a T-shirt that needs screen printing,

02:26:06 there's someone for you.

02:26:07 If you have denim that needs some fashion,

02:26:09 there's someone for you.

02:26:09 So all of these creative talents are here

02:26:11 to give you a great experience.

02:26:14 Yeah.

02:26:14 - Finally, what motivated you to start this?

02:26:17 - So for me, it was really about the fact

02:26:20 that Kantebantu has been doing this work

02:26:22 for a very, very long time,

02:26:23 but it has been recognized for what it does.

02:26:25 So that was really what inspired us,

02:26:27 to give them the space and the platform

02:26:29 to show what they can do.

02:26:30 - Fashion entrepreneur, stylist,

02:26:33 and member of the Brony Wewu School, Neil Davis,

02:26:35 says there's no reason why the creations

02:26:38 from Kantebantu's talented designers

02:26:40 can't shine on the global runway.

02:26:43 - Yeah, I came on as a mentor and a trainer

02:26:45 for the young kids that are emerging from Kantebantu.

02:26:48 I'm an upcycler myself.

02:26:49 I do it as a brand.

02:26:50 I've been running my brand ship for the past four years.

02:26:53 So I come in as one of the pioneer people

02:26:55 who started this, from Kantebantu,

02:26:57 using dead stock materials and waste to make clothing.

02:27:00 And I think it's something that a lot of people

02:27:02 do not understand.

02:27:03 So that's why this is happening now.

02:27:06 We want to educate people.

02:27:07 We want to encourage people to reuse, to recycle,

02:27:11 and to reinvent pieces of waste that they have.

02:27:15 I think everything starts with a mindset.

02:27:17 It has to be a cultural mindset for everybody.

02:27:19 I believe one man standing to start

02:27:23 makes other people want to start.

02:27:24 Just like how I started,

02:27:26 it's like I encourage the next generation

02:27:28 to pick up this, and that's what is happening.

02:27:30 So I feel like even if you don't have to thrift from Kante,

02:27:34 even your stuff that you use at home,

02:27:36 you can hand embroider it in a certain way.

02:27:39 You can remove the sleeves of a shirt

02:27:40 and make it sleeveless,

02:27:41 and it's a whole new style altogether.

02:27:43 You can rejoin the sleeves to another shirt,

02:27:46 and it's a new shirt altogether.

02:27:47 It's just very, it's being artistic

02:27:49 in putting together a style silhouette for yourself.

02:27:53 - Designer Charles Pippra expressed gratitude

02:27:55 for the platform provided by the Orr Foundation,

02:27:58 emphasizing the importance of showcasing their creativity

02:28:02 to a wider audience.

02:28:03 - I learned it when I was a little age.

02:28:07 And I was in fashion, like I love fashion.

02:28:11 So I had Obonuwewu, that was last year,

02:28:16 and they told us that we should contest and stuff.

02:28:19 So we were working with the Orr Foundation,

02:28:23 and they said we should do fashion, this thing and that.

02:28:26 So we started it, that was last year.

02:28:29 It's helping me a lot, because through this thing,

02:28:31 I've met a whole lot of artists.

02:28:34 It has opened ways for me, and a lot, a lot, yes, a lot.

02:28:39 And it's helping, and it's helping the YouTube.

02:28:42 Yes, it's helping us very, very, very, very, very well.

02:28:45 Because it is bringing what I knew,

02:28:47 then what I can do, then what even my aim, yes.

02:28:51 Because I love fashion, yes.

02:28:54 So as they came, yes, we were like, okay, then let's join.

02:28:59 And I've been in Kantamontu over 15 years now.

02:29:02 Yes, so as they came, I was like, okay,

02:29:04 because since I've been there,

02:29:05 no one have been telling us that maybe we should do this,

02:29:09 or we should do that, yes.

02:29:11 So as they started it last year, yes, it was cool.

02:29:14 So this year, they told us that, yeah,

02:29:16 it was going to be large, and it's true too.

02:29:18 You can't even see it yourself.

02:29:20 - Yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:29:21 Even what I was wearing, it's very, very, very, very hard.

02:29:25 And it will be hardly for you to get it somewhere.

02:29:28 - Yeah. - Yes.

02:29:29 It will be hardly for you to get it somewhere,

02:29:31 only in Kantamontu.

02:29:33 Yes, we are proud of ourselves, yes,

02:29:35 because at Kantamontu, we can do a whole lot of things.

02:29:39 Yes, but it seems like no one is doing that,

02:29:41 like no one is paying attention to us,

02:29:43 until they came to us, you see.

02:29:45 Yes.

02:29:46 - Richard Asante is also a designer

02:29:48 and beneficiary of the Obroniwewu October Project.

02:29:51 He shared his excitement about the overwhelming patronage

02:29:54 the event has received,

02:29:56 underscoring the growing appeal of sustainable fashion.

02:29:59 - This event is helping us a lot.

02:30:01 It's actually putting our works out there,

02:30:03 letting new people to see what we are doing.

02:30:05 Like, we have been in the dark for long,

02:30:07 so since Obroniwewu October came last year and this year,

02:30:10 it has actually helped us to see more people,

02:30:13 and people from my brother looking out,

02:30:15 I started seeing, I started taking pictures,

02:30:17 making this go viral so that we can earn some,

02:30:20 earning from it, yeah.

02:30:21 Yeah, this, I actually made this,

02:30:25 it's called Opium Style.

02:30:27 Yeah, this style is called Opium Style, yeah, that's it.

02:30:29 So I actually planned this to make it like this,

02:30:31 to wear it myself.

02:30:33 I just did this, this morning.

02:30:35 - Renowned musician Manlove The Kupolo

02:30:41 raised the event's edge to the government

02:30:43 to play a more active role in supporting initiatives

02:30:46 like the Obroniwewu Festival,

02:30:48 emphasizing the cultural and economic significance

02:30:51 of such endeavors.

02:30:53 - Super excited.

02:31:02 This initiative by the ORS President,

02:31:05 this Obroniwewu October,

02:31:08 has given opportunity to designers

02:31:11 to create the most amazing things they can think of.

02:31:14 They facilitate, they support them with funds

02:31:17 to go out there and to countermantle

02:31:19 and pick the materials they need

02:31:21 to create whatever they are dreaming about.

02:31:24 And I think it's really amazing.

02:31:25 It's somehow a pity that it's not something initiated

02:31:28 by the government, but we all know our government

02:31:31 is focused on other things.

02:31:33 And so, here we are, we are come to enjoy

02:31:37 over months of hard work by designers, tailors,

02:31:42 and different logistical people at the ORS President.

02:31:44 You know, yeah, so we're here to see a show.

02:31:47 Yeah.

02:31:49 First of all, they are raising awareness

02:31:50 that almost 80% of the bills that come,

02:31:53 the full Obroniwewu, are not resellable.

02:31:57 And because of the high taxes on the traders

02:32:00 that countermantle, it's hard to dispose of these things

02:32:03 'cause you have to pay for the boiler.

02:32:05 You're not making that much money in this economy.

02:32:07 So people often leave the bills anyhow,

02:32:10 and the rain pushes it into the drains,

02:32:12 and it ends up in the ocean, choking the ocean,

02:32:15 choking the life there, spoiling things for fishermen,

02:32:17 polluting the toxins that come out of these dyed fabrics

02:32:20 and so on, also polluting the water.

02:32:22 And so, Obroniwewu Oktober, the ORS President,

02:32:26 and all the designers, and everybody that comes

02:32:28 around this collective, are concerned about the environment

02:32:32 and want us to stop what they call waste colonialism,

02:32:36 which is just dumping their boiler on us.

02:32:40 They should make sure there's quality control at that side

02:32:43 before materials come, so that we can be selling

02:32:45 90, 100% of everything that comes.

02:32:48 - Additionally, the event provided a golden opportunity

02:32:51 for some sellers to make good sales.

02:32:54 - So I'm Saudi, and this barbecue stand is called Aboki,

02:32:58 a subsidiary of Suya Republic.

02:33:00 Yeah, so the OR Foundation has always been family.

02:33:04 We called to partner on this, so we are on board,

02:33:07 and the patronage has been good.

02:33:09 Everybody's here showing us plenty love.

02:33:12 The patronage has been good.

02:33:13 You can see people coming, everyone here showing us love.

02:33:16 They've seen the stand, and everyone wants to get a taste.

02:33:20 Yeah.

02:33:21 - In the heart of Rawlings Park, a celebration

02:33:23 of creativity and sustainability unfolded,

02:33:27 proving that fashion knows no boundaries

02:33:29 when passion and innovation come together.

02:33:33 Max Olagbaba for JOYNEWS.

02:33:35 (upbeat music)

02:33:37 (upbeat music)

02:33:47 (upbeat music)

02:33:50 (upbeat music)

02:33:52 (upbeat music)

02:33:55 (upbeat music)

02:33:57 (upbeat music)

02:34:00 (upbeat music)

02:34:03 - Receiving of relief items by communities

02:34:06 affected by the Kusumbo Dam spillage

02:34:09 has almost become a normal phenomenon.

02:34:12 Almost every day, people in the South Zone District

02:34:15 and communities along the Volta Lake receive relief items

02:34:20 due to the Kusumbo Dam spillage.

02:34:23 Companies, individuals, and kind-hearted people

02:34:26 have been helping the affected communities.

02:34:29 But it's not about these relief supplies.

02:34:33 It's about a community and its people

02:34:36 who have lost their livelihood, homes, and jobs.

02:34:41 The Manklalu of Batu Traditional Area,

02:34:44 Oman Klalu Boboji, is calling for an immediate plan

02:34:47 to resettle the affected communities.

02:34:50 - Minister of Finance, he says that this issue,

02:34:54 because it rained too much, that caused it.

02:34:57 It means that another day, another rain will come.

02:35:00 How long Daniels will continue and be giving us food

02:35:03 if another rain have come again?

02:35:06 So we have the land, we have a space.

02:35:09 Ghana government should do something about it

02:35:12 to resettle our people.

02:35:13 We are appealing to the government

02:35:15 as a good leader for us, father for all,

02:35:18 should come out so that we can hear something from him,

02:35:22 so that our hearts can be rest.

02:35:24 - Togwe Boboji went ahead to appeal for small factories

02:35:28 to be set up for the people to enable them

02:35:30 find something to live on,

02:35:32 as their main source of livelihood

02:35:34 has been cut off by the spillage.

02:35:37 An opinion leader in the Batu Traditional Area

02:35:40 also shares some details about the affected communities.

02:35:44 (people shouting)

02:36:09 Companies like the Central Group,

02:36:11 Goodness Energy and Wilma Ghana

02:36:13 are among the latest to show love

02:36:16 to the affected communities.

02:36:17 The Central Group donated assorted items

02:36:24 and 1,000 bags of cement

02:36:27 and a cash amount of 40,000 CDs

02:36:30 to the displaced communities in the South Tongue District.

02:36:35 Goodness Energy on its part provided assorted food items,

02:36:39 including sugar, rice, gary, maize, beans,

02:36:42 amounting to 300,000 CDs

02:36:45 to the affected communities in the Angola District.

02:36:49 Meanwhile, Wilma Ghana also donated various items,

02:36:53 including rice, oil, margarine, some detergent,

02:36:57 among some assorted items

02:36:59 to the Aflawu and Mbembe communities.

02:37:01 For Joy News, my name is Elvis Washington

02:37:05 reporting from the Volta region.

02:37:09 Mbembe.

02:37:10 - And the aftermath of saying, what is the latest?

02:37:20 Well, we are joined now by Mr. Seji Saji-Amedonu,

02:37:25 and he is Deputy Director General

02:37:28 of Technical Reforms at Natmo.

02:37:32 A very good morning to you, sir.

02:37:38 All right, so we'll try to work the lines

02:37:39 to get Mr. Seji Saji-Amedonu connecting with us.

02:37:43 Of course, we would like to know

02:37:44 what the latest is on that situation.

02:37:46 We've seen the work that the VRA has commenced,

02:37:49 among others, but what is Natmo up to?

02:37:52 Mr. Amedonu, a very good morning to you.

02:37:54 - Good morning.

02:37:57 - It's really good to have you join the conversation.

02:37:59 I'll just go straight to it.

02:38:02 What is the latest as far as Natmo's work

02:38:06 along the Volta Lake is concerned

02:38:09 in respect of these affected communities?

02:38:11 What updates can you give us?

02:38:13 - Thank you very much,

02:38:16 and good morning to your cherished viewers, too, as well.

02:38:20 We are at the recovery stage now.

02:38:24 As you are well aware,

02:38:25 spillage has stopped about a week ago,

02:38:28 and we are trying as much as possible

02:38:31 to bring back to normal the state

02:38:35 in which the people were before the incident happened.

02:38:38 And in our line of work, that's the recovery stage.

02:38:42 We have some issues to deal with,

02:38:44 issues with education,

02:38:46 and issues with some stagnant water

02:38:49 still in the communities.

02:38:51 We are still working on that.

02:38:53 You are aware that most of our safe havens

02:38:55 are classroom blocks,

02:38:56 so educational activities had come to a halt

02:39:01 in quite a number of those schools.

02:39:04 We have succeeded to a large estate in Central Tongue

02:39:07 to restore back education activities.

02:39:12 The only thing left is that we have some few tents now.

02:39:15 As soon as that is erected,

02:39:17 maybe by close of day tomorrow,

02:39:19 all schools in Central Tongue will be in session.

02:39:22 The challenge is in North Tongue.

02:39:24 We may be able to start something maybe next week.

02:39:30 We are hoping that we have some few tents

02:39:34 to erect that can be used

02:39:36 as temporary classroom blocks for now.

02:39:38 For the issue of the water,

02:39:42 we've been able to create some channels

02:39:44 for those stagnant water

02:39:46 to start going, receding back into the river.

02:39:50 Apart from that, there is a team coming in tomorrow

02:39:57 to start some assessment,

02:39:59 is EPA and structural assessment.

02:40:02 It's a team from the UN Interagency Working Group

02:40:05 that include the Ghana Institute of Engineers,

02:40:07 EPA, VRA, NADMO itself.

02:40:10 They'll be doing some assessment

02:40:12 to ascertain what exactly are we dealing with

02:40:16 when it comes to the issue of decontamination,

02:40:18 the disinfection and fumigation.

02:40:22 And we'll be looking at the structural integrity

02:40:24 of some of the structures.

02:40:26 When this is completed,

02:40:28 some fumigation had gone on already.

02:40:31 And how to move the people back to their houses

02:40:36 so that the classroom blocks will be free

02:40:41 for learning and teaching to begin.

02:40:43 So in a summary, this is what we are looking at

02:40:48 in most of the districts that we recorded affected persons.

02:40:51 We don't have too much challenge in Lowa Manya,

02:40:54 too much challenge in Sujaman.

02:40:56 Our challenges are where we have the safe havens,

02:40:59 which are four districts.

02:41:01 That is North Town, Central Town,

02:41:03 Shire-Usuduku, the esoteric side of the Shire-Usuduku.

02:41:08 Then Adan itself.

02:41:09 - Now you've spoken about disinfection, fumigation.

02:41:14 The VRA had already started something on that level,

02:41:18 as well as the structural integrity

02:41:21 of some of the edifices there.

02:41:23 As of now, is there anything you can report on that,

02:41:26 even in anticipating what will be done?

02:41:31 - Oh no, what has happened is the fumigation.

02:41:35 It's only the fumigation that has happened.

02:41:37 It started even when the situation was unfolding.

02:41:41 Zumiya Lion came in to fumigate all the safe havens.

02:41:45 But after that, when the water started receding,

02:41:47 the places that the water had completely receded,

02:41:52 some fumigation has gone on.

02:41:53 And that is what you just referred to.

02:41:56 But if you know the situation very well,

02:42:00 this is flooding that flooded the whole community.

02:42:04 And the kind of facilities in those communities,

02:42:08 including some places, even a whole cemetery was flooded.

02:42:13 The people around here use a lot of pit latrines.

02:42:18 That is also flooded.

02:42:20 We need to actually ascertain what kind of hazards

02:42:24 can be posed to the people if they return.

02:42:29 And that can only be ascertained through an assessment.

02:42:32 And that is what is going to happen now from tomorrow.

02:42:36 - Now, you spoke about bringing to normal

02:42:40 how the people were living, restoring normalcy

02:42:42 in terms of how they were before this flooding

02:42:46 or the spillage happened.

02:42:48 How long do you project that would take,

02:42:51 looking at how bad the situation is?

02:42:54 You've already mentioned the structural integrity

02:42:57 of the buildings and also the health hazards

02:43:00 that could be posed.

02:43:02 Are there any timelines?

02:43:03 Do you have any idea as of now,

02:43:05 how much longer this is going to take?

02:43:08 - Well, that will be a bit difficult, but it is a process.

02:43:14 As I mentioned to you, for a place like Central Tongue

02:43:20 in the aspect of education, to a large extent,

02:43:25 things are becoming a bit normal.

02:43:28 And so that is how it is going to go

02:43:29 in all the other sectors, that it will take some time,

02:43:33 but we are working very hard to make sure

02:43:36 that as soon as possible, things will return to normal.

02:43:41 - As people of goodwill, as government organizations,

02:43:48 corporate organizations and others have donated massively

02:43:52 because government has not been able as well

02:43:54 to foot the entirety of the bill,

02:43:57 one thing that has come to bear,

02:43:58 people are donating food and drink and other items,

02:44:01 but sanitary towels, sanitary pads for our young girls.

02:44:06 The monthly cycle doesn't stop

02:44:08 because a disaster has happened.

02:44:10 So a lot of the young girls, school going age,

02:44:12 among others, are going through this process.

02:44:15 And a lot of them were complaining

02:44:17 that they didn't have the right,

02:44:18 they had to improvise and for some of them,

02:44:23 it wasn't working.

02:44:25 Have you, as an admiral, looked at that angle?

02:44:28 Have you received any supplies you've been able to share

02:44:30 to the young girls in these communities?

02:44:33 - Yeah, thank you.

02:44:36 That complaint you just mentioned came up

02:44:40 when the situation started and was unfolding.

02:44:44 You know, in our line of work, as we assess the situation,

02:44:48 when the needs come up,

02:44:50 we quickly mobilize to address those needs.

02:44:52 As we speak, there's a lot of those items in the system

02:44:56 provided by both government and private individuals

02:45:01 and philanthropies who are donating.

02:45:04 Because what happens is that as you put out the needs,

02:45:08 the individuals, organizations and companies

02:45:11 or philanthropies who want to donate,

02:45:13 some of them get in touch to find out what are the needs.

02:45:16 And as you get them the needs, they try to provide.

02:45:20 - Mr. Sajid, so, okay.

02:45:28 We lost you briefly, but please go ahead.

02:45:31 We lost you briefly, please go ahead.

02:45:33 - Yeah, so just this weekend,

02:45:35 an organization like Child Rights International

02:45:39 went through all the safe havens

02:45:42 and provided sanitary towels, pads,

02:45:46 and all those things to young girls.

02:45:48 So it's very much a need in all the safe havens.

02:45:52 But I mean, before even the situation ended,

02:45:56 the spillage ended, we have started addressing those needs.

02:45:59 And that is also continuing until such a time

02:46:02 that we get them back to their houses.

02:46:05 - In terms of logistics resources,

02:46:08 is NADMO faring any better now

02:46:10 in terms of the deliverables to the people?

02:46:13 - Yes, to a large extent, to a large extent, yes.

02:46:17 You know, we started our response effort

02:46:20 in collaboration with VRA.

02:46:22 And this has continued up to the point

02:46:27 when other organizations and individuals

02:46:30 came in to support.

02:46:31 But as we even speak, agencies of government,

02:46:34 ministries of government are also coming in

02:46:38 with supplies to assist the relief administration.

02:46:42 So that is quite going on well in general.

02:46:44 - Right before we have you take a leave of us,

02:46:50 so what next as far as NADMO is concerned?

02:46:52 What can we expect in the coming days,

02:46:55 in the course of this week,

02:46:56 as far as your activity in these communities?

02:46:59 You mentioned some of them,

02:47:00 the Shio Sudoku area among others.

02:47:02 What can we expect?

02:47:04 - Well, there's a lot of some projects

02:47:09 going on by some individuals to also assist.

02:47:13 We took delivery of some tents,

02:47:16 quite sizable tents yesterday.

02:47:20 What we'll be doing is to try and get those tents

02:47:24 to some of the schools and use them

02:47:26 as temporarily classroom blocks

02:47:31 where the kids can start their education,

02:47:36 can continue whilst the classrooms

02:47:38 are still used as safe havens.

02:47:41 That is mostly for North Town.

02:47:44 But as I said, there are two teams.

02:47:46 We are having a household registry too.

02:47:48 IOM is also leading a team this week

02:47:51 to do a household registration of every person affected.

02:47:56 In planning, you need a lot of data and accurate data.

02:48:01 So we are now working towards getting accurate data

02:48:05 in terms of putting names and other information.

02:48:08 As for the total general statuses

02:48:10 that we already put out of 39,333

02:48:14 as the affected persons still remains the same.

02:48:16 North Town has the hardest hit, Central Town,

02:48:20 to Lower Manya, which is the least hit.

02:48:22 We have that data, even in a disaggregated manner,

02:48:25 we have that of male, female,

02:48:27 the physically disabled children, we have all that.

02:48:32 The education sector too, we have data on those

02:48:36 who as a result of the incident are not in classrooms

02:48:39 as they should be now.

02:48:41 So this week, we are trying hard,

02:48:44 as I said, we are at the recovering stage.

02:48:46 And for the recovery stage is bringing back all facilities,

02:48:49 some road networks too have issues.

02:48:52 We are also looking at that too.

02:48:54 And the stagnant water in some of the community,

02:48:57 how we can get it out.

02:48:58 We got quite a lot of them out last week.

02:49:01 We still have some more to work on getting out.

02:49:05 And we are hopeful that getting into next week,

02:49:08 we should be able to bring back to a large extent

02:49:11 some normalcy in these areas.

02:49:14 - Well, thank you so much, sir,

02:49:17 for joining the conversation, Mr. Seji Saji-Amedonu,

02:49:21 the Deputy Director General of Technical and Reforms

02:49:24 at NADMO.

02:49:25 We're grateful, sir, for your time.

02:49:27 - Thank you.

02:49:28 - So as we get ready to cap off the show,

02:49:30 I would like to read some comments to you.

02:49:32 We put this up on social media on Facebook.

02:49:34 "Let's work together to break the AIDS,"

02:49:36 that's Baumea telling the MPP.

02:49:39 But we asked, "Can Dr. Baumea lead the MPP

02:49:42 "to break the AIDS?"

02:49:42 Some of you shared your thoughts.

02:49:44 Let's take a quick look at them.

02:49:46 Koduma Muniru says, "His promises will let him fall."

02:49:49 J.M. Afa.

02:49:50 Elvis says, "Surely he will win."

02:49:53 Asamuakweku says, "Fala victory against John Dramani-Mahama."

02:49:57 Joseph La says, "Opposition leader."

02:49:59 But let me go to some others that break it down a bit.

02:50:03 Nanopua Asante says, "The top party officials

02:50:07 "are satisfied financially,

02:50:08 "but secretly to all the party members,

02:50:12 "to keep it a secret, make sure Baumea wins.

02:50:16 "But that's not what will serve the people."

02:50:18 Okay, then Semabia Emmanuel says,

02:50:21 "The most lazy vice president Ghana has ever had."

02:50:24 Okay, so your opinion.

02:50:25 Kweku Jemfi Kumanini says, "The question is,

02:50:30 "are we ready to give President Okufuadu another four years?

02:50:33 "If no, then Baumea can't."

02:50:35 Because if Baumea comes,

02:50:36 it's Okufuadu who's still ruling.

02:50:39 This one, Pachin Nawabala says, "Breaking the A.E."

02:50:43 That's what he says.

02:50:44 And he has a heartbreak emoji there.

02:50:47 I see Joe Frimpong comparing and contrasting Mahama

02:50:51 versus Dr. Baumea in terms of their performance.

02:50:55 And the caption is, "Vote wisely on December the 7th, 2024."

02:51:00 This is the final one I'll look at.

02:51:01 There are so many, and thank you all for your responses.

02:51:03 But I'll take this final one.

02:51:05 Warisu Abdulsalam says, "Which eight are they even breaking?

02:51:09 "They will not even get 40% in 2024 come December."

02:51:14 Okay, so the verdict is out.

02:51:17 In the end, it's not one person.

02:51:19 I can't sit here and say who will win.

02:51:20 It's not the other person.

02:51:21 It's all of us put together

02:51:23 who will decide who wins election 2024.

02:51:28 Before I celebrate one person whose birthday I got,

02:51:33 let me just let you know.

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02:54:11 Well, we are at the point where we are capping off the show.

02:54:14 It is my hope that you've enjoyed the show today.

02:54:17 Let's celebrate Damien Ekufu.

02:54:22 Now Damien Ekufu, Asante of Happy Royal International School

02:54:27 in Oyarifa, today happens to be your birthday.

02:54:31 It's from your parents, Victor and Vincentia Asante

02:54:36 and your siblings, Tiffany and Kelvin.

02:54:39 And so to you, Damien Ekufu Asante,

02:54:42 I don't know your age today,

02:54:43 but happy birthday to you.

02:54:46 God keep you, God bless you.

02:54:48 My prayer at the start of the day

02:54:50 was from 1 Chronicles 4, verse 10.

02:54:53 May the Lord enlarge your territory.

02:54:55 May he hold you with his arm

02:54:57 and may he make you prosper in everything you do.

02:55:01 And that's from us to you as well,

02:55:03 if you're celebrating your birthday

02:55:04 or any special anniversary today.

02:55:07 My name is Benjamin Akaku

02:55:09 and I hope you've enjoyed your time with me this morning.

02:55:11 Let's do it again, same time tomorrow morning.

02:55:13 But for now, we'll leave you in the hands of Aisha Ibrahim,

02:55:17 who comes your way next with Joy News Desk.

02:55:20 (upbeat music)

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02:55:49 (upbeat music)

NPP Presidential Primary was a state Choreographed election - Dr Ayamga | AM Show

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