Former Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Catherine Afeku has described recent comments by former Dome-Kwabenya Member of Parliament Adwoa Safo as an inadvertent endorsement of New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer aspirant Kennedy Agyapong’s principled approach to governance.
Speaking on JoyNews’ News Desk on Friday, December 19, Ms Afeku said that while Ms Safo raised concerns about her own political prospects should Mr Agyapong become the NPP leader and eventually President, her statements nonetheless revealed key aspects of his integrity and merit-based leadership.
Ms Safo, while acknowledging Mr Agyapong’s significant contributions to the party, suggested that her experience and service would not be recognised under such a scenario.
She further questioned whether her personal and professional relationship with Mr Agyapong would influence any potential appointment.
“I have never said he is going to win this contest, but let us assume he wins and becomes President, and he comes across my CV,” she said.
“Looking at the work I have done and how I have served this nation and my party, for someone I have two children with to consider appointing me as a minister would seem impossible; hell will break loose in this country. And the Kennedy Agyapong I know, with whom I have two children, would never do it,” Ms Safo explained.
Reacting to these remarks, Ms Afeku said she did not wish to dwell extensively on Ms Safo’s comments but highlighted their unintended positive implication for Mr Agyapong.
“Not that I want to spend too much time on Adwoa, but in that same conversation, she vouched for the principled nature of the candidate who can turn things around in Ghana, and that candidate is Ken,” Ms Afeku said.
The former minister described the comments as a case of “reverse psychology”, where an effort to criticise Mr Agyapong ultimately reinforced public confidence in his character.
“When you look at the bigger picture, 18 million people are going to vote, and one person, in her effort to denigrate, actually ended up vouching for the principled nature of Kennedy Agyapong,” she said.
Ms Afeku stressed that Ms Safo’s admission, made freely, without coercion, that she would not automatically benefit from her personal relationship with Mr Agyapong, underlined his rejection of nepotism.
“She said, not coerced and not pushed, that if Kennedy wins, she will not be given a job and her political career will come to an end,” Ms Afeku noted.
Describing the statement as “very loaded”, Ms Afeku said it demonstrated Mr Agyapong’s firm stance against family-and-friends governance.
“It tells you two things: Kennedy is principled; he will not tolerate family and friends, he does not support nepotism, and he tells it as it is. Just because I have children with you does not automatically give you a position in my future government,” she said.
Ms Afeku added that she recorded her reflections after watching the video of Ms Safo’s remarks, describing it as a strong testimony to Mr Agyapong’s commitment to meritocracy.
“For me, that was a testimony of the principled nature of Ken,” she concluded.
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