He said presently, the party was riding on a limping leg due to the level of apathy within the rank and file of the party as there had been several complaints by the party people that they had not reaped the benefits of the efforts they made to bring the party into power in both the 2016 and 2020 general elections.

Assuraance

He has, therefore, assured them that he will work tirelessly to address all their concerns and build a formidable front in order to win the 2024 election should he be elected flag bearer of the NPP.

The former Minister of Food and Agriculture made this observation while addressing party delegates made up of polling station executives, electoral area coordinators, constituency executives and council of elders on his nationwide campaign tour which began in the Greater Accra Region on Monday, June 3, 2023.

Dr Akoto said “due to the hard work of the Polling Station Executives and Electoral Area Coordinators as well the constituency executives, among others, President Akufo-Addo won the 2016 Presidential election with more than one million votes.

In the parliamentary election, we won 167 seats out of the 275 seats.

Was the story the same in 2020?

In the presidential election, our numbers dropped and in the parliamentary election, we lost 32 seats.

This should send a signal that we need a new direction and focus as a party.”

He added “When I became the Minister of Food and Agriculture, I decided to visit all the 16 regions every year to see how the programmes and policies the Ministry was implementing were impacting on the lives of the people.

During those times, every region I visited, I found time to interact with party faithful.

To be honest with you, what I heard wasn’t pleasant at all.

Almost everybody was crying that they had been abandoned; they didn’t have any work to do, they were starving, their children were not able to go to school.

We can’t go into the 2024 general election with this situation we find ourselves in”.

Visit

Among the constituencies Dr Akoto visited were Shai-Osudoku, Ningo-Prampram, Ashaiman, Domeabra-Obom, Ayawaso East and Ayawaso West North constituencies.

He was accompanied by his two co-Campaign Chairmen, Alfred Boye, a former Greater Accra NPP Regional Chairman, and Ken-Wuud Nuworsu, also a former NPP Volta Regional Chairman; the National Coordinator of the Campaign Team, Peter Oteng Darko, and the Campaign Spokesperson, Dr Prince Sodoke Amuzu.

Speaking further to the issue, Dr Afriyie Akoto, who is also a two-term Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso, said the current state of the party was not the best to enter into the 2024 general election with.

He, therefore, underscored the importance of building a strong and formidable united front to break the eight-year governance cycle.