Matthew Opoku Prempeh Shows Humility, Admits NPP’s Failings in Power: “There Was a Broken Trust”
- Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh admitted that the New Patriotic Party fell short when it was in power
- In an interview, he outlined some areas the Akufo-Addo administration could have done better at
- The former minister believes these failings while in power cost the NPP the trust of the Ghanaians
The New Patriotic Party's running mate in the 2024 election, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has acknowledged some failures in governance during the Nana Akufo-Addo administration, which he served in.
Among others, Prempeh suggested that the Akufo-Addo administration did not pay enough attention to the people.
Source: Facebook
He told Joy News his government simply did not listen enough.
The former Education and Energy Minister believes that failure cost them the trust of the people.
“One thing I’ve concluded in the last 10 months is that there was a broken trust between citizens to government. The trust that was broken hurt so much that we saw the results so broken."
Asked what caused that rupture, Prempeh said:
“We didn’t listen enough, we assumed a lot of things we shouldn’t have assumed."
NAPO added that even the NPP's sense of purpose as a government had come under strain.
He also argued that the global environment made everything harder, saying the world had been shaken on multiple fronts, leading to adverse effects on the economy.
But through it all, Prempeh maintained that despite the difficult global context, their biggest failure was not hearing the public early enough, and in his view, that failure paved the way for everything that followed.
Prempeh reaffirms support for Bawumia
Prempeh is still backing former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia despite the challenges in power.
In July, he declared his unflinching support in the NPP flagbearer race for the man he previously served as running mate.
Shortly after the NPP National Delegates Conference held in Accra on July 19, 2025, Prempeh posted a picture of Kennedy Agyapong, another of the leading contenders in the flagbearer race, on his Facebook page.
This post, which came without a caption, fuelled speculation that Prempeh had ditched Bawumia for Agyapong.
However, he dismissed those claims, saying he remains committed to the former Vice President's bid to become the leader of the country.
Prempeh, who is the former Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, said he could never be ungrateful to Bawumia after choosing him as his running mate for the 2024 presidential election.
Source: Facebook
Bawumia, who is widely viewed as the frontrunner in the race, Agyapong, Bryan Acheampong, Kwabena Agyapong, and Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum are the candidates contesting to be the NPP flagbearer.
The opposition party's flagbearer election will come off in January 2026, a little over a year after defeat in the 2024 polls.
NAPO claims opposition from NPP gurus
YEN.com.gh also reported that Prempeh had claimed that some top party leaders tried to block Dr Bawumia from selecting him as his running mate.
Prempeh said it took the former Vice President standing firm on the matter to keep him in the position, which he has also expressed his gratitude for.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
