Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, former Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, a one-time Minister of Education, and the 2024 New Patriotic Party (NPP) vice-presidential candidate, has defended his controversial remark referencing Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, saying it was “totally misunderstood.”
During his outdooring in Kumasi in July 2024, Dr. Prempeh made comments suggesting that, in his view, no Ghanaian leader since independence had matched the development record of President Nana Akufo-Addo, a comparison some interpreted as a slight against Nkrumah.
In an interview on JoyNews PM Express, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh said he went to Nkroful to personally meet with chiefs and clarify his intentions
“So I made a statement, ‘mo Kwame Nkrumah.’ I subsequently had to go to Nkroful and speak to the chiefs there and explain the context of the statement.” He said.
He noted that political communication is often prone to misinterpretation or misquotation. He admitted that his comment triggered widespread public backlash and issued an apology.
According to him, his statement was not made out of disrespect for the late former president or the CPP. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh added that he maintains cordial relationships across the political divide.
“In politics, if somebody misunderstands, misquotes, or you allow your communication to be misread or misunderstood, you have to own it. So I own it, and that is why I issued the statement not that the context was wrong.
“So it was totally misunderstood, but it generated a lot of backlash. The Nkrumahists got furious, and I apologize to them, but they should go and read Nkrumah’s last days from Guinea.
“How he described his own CPP. He said the CPP was dead, that’s what Kwame Nkrumah wrote so we don’t say these things out of lack of respect. You know me, I have friends everywhere.” He said.
Source: Elvisanokyenews.com
