My meeting with party executives discussed only welfare matters – Dr. Afriyie Akoto

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The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto has denied reports that he’s held a meeting to announce his bid for the “flagbearership” position of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

There have been reports in both traditional and social media that the Minister during the weekend held a private meeting with party executives in the Ashanti Region where he made his presidential ambition known to those who attended.

He is said to have explained at the meeting that there have been incessant calls on him to enter the presidential race to replace President Akufo-Addo in 2024.

But Dr Afriyie Akoto, a close pal of President Akufo-Addo and a son of the late Baffour Osei Akoto, who was a chief linguist of the Manhyia Palace, and a prominent member of the pre-independence National Liberation Movement (NLM) in a statement stated that the said meeting discussed only matters concerning party welfare.

“I decided to go Kumasi and have some rest during the weekend and try to recover from a fever I was running after I attended the budget reading in parliament on Friday 12 March, 2021. As a former member of parliament in the region and as a senior member of this government, I accepted to grant audience to some party executives who had been making calls for a meeting to discuss matters concerning the welfare of the party.”

He also denied that he spent a whopping GHC1,000,000 on party members who attended the meeting.

“However, such meetings end with an amount given as a transportation to guests who came from far and near.

“The narrators claimed that I spent up to GH 1,000,000.00 Ghana Cedis at the said meeting to announce my bid for the position. This is not only incorrect but it could only be in the imaginations of the one making those claims. Meeting 17 constituency executives for each of the 47 constituencies in my house meant I was receiving about 700 delegates. My house does not have the capacity to accommodate such numbers. How therefore can one assume that I paid almost One Million Ghana Cedis to these NPP executives in one day” he asked?

Below is the full statement

STATEMENT BY HON. DR. OWUSU AFRIYIE AKOTO ON DETAILS OF MEETINGS HELD WITH EXECUTIVES OF THE NPP IN THE ASHANTI REGION.

I have taken due notice of an information making rounds on both traditional and social media claiming to be summary of an outcome of a meeting held with party executives in the Ashanti Region “to announce my bid for the flagbearer position of the New Patriotic Party”.

The narrators for reasons best known to them, mischievously sought to court public disaffection for my person by making outrageous claims.

Hence with, I would like to put forward the following facts:

1. Per the constitution of the New Patriotic Party, nominations have not been opened for interested candidates to announce their intentions to contest for any position in the party. It is therefore unfortunate for anyone to seek to create the impression that I held a meeting to announce my bid for the “flagbearership” position of the party.
2. I decided to go Kumasi and have some rest during the weekend and try to recover from a fever I was running after I attended the budget reading in parliament on Friday 12 March, 2021. As a former member of parliament in the region and as a senior member of this government, I accepted to grant audience to some party executives who had been making calls for a meeting to discuss matters concerning the welfare of the party. However, such meetings end with an amount given as a transportation to guests who came from far and near.
3. The narrators claimed that I spent up to GH 1,000,000.00 Ghana Cedis at the said meeting to announce my bid for the position. This is not only incorrect but it could only be in the imaginations of the one making those claims. Meeting 17 constituency executives for each of the 47 constituencies in my house meant I was receiving about 700 delegates. My house does not have the capacity to accommodate such numbers. How therefore can one assume that I paid almost One Million Ghana Cedis to these NPP executives in one day?
4. Furthermore, the narrators claimed I promised to distribute tractors and motorbikes to party executives. This is another lie. Being mindful of the fact that these tractors are purely meant for farming purposes, I will never use their allocation or distribution for my personal political ambition. Processes for the acquisition and distribution of these equipment are clearly spelt out and there is no way it will be compromised for other purposes apart from being given to deserving farmers and farmer groups in the
5. Another regrettable claim by the narrators is that I sought to ride on the back of my long-term relationship with President Akufo Addo to prosecute my political ambition. It is no secret that I have a very close relationship with President Akufo Addo which predates our political careers. But it can only be a figment of one’s imagination to assume that I will put the President in such an uncomfortable situation by using his name to campaign. Especially when he has issued a strong warning to members of his government to refrain from such conducts. I think my relationship with the President should rather be the reason why I should continue to give off my best in order to help make his second term a continued success. It is therefore regrettable to note that I  with this understanding, would be the one  to cause distractions and try to derail the focus of our government by announcing my ambitions at this time. There is a deliberate effort by my detractors from within and outside my party to cause disaffection between me and the party and between me and the government for which I have worked so hard in the last four years. Such people think the easiest way to go is to introduce tribal politics. The issue about roads in Ashanti Region is a typical example of the tribal politics I am referring
6. As people who know me would attest to, I don’t subscribe to tribal politics.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that I  believe in decent political discourse devoid of insults, lies and mudslinging.

I will therefore encourage each and everyone, including the media, to refrain from acts that have the tendency to derail the historical gains made by the Government of His Excellency Nana Akufo Addo and ensure continuation in development.

Let me take this opportunity to renew my unflinching commitment to the goals set by the

:w   . n r:e

Hon. Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto Minister for Food and Agriculture 18th March, 2021