Former Energy Minister John Peter Amewu has declared Kennedy Ohene Agyapong as the best candidate among the contenders positioning themselves ahead of the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearship contest.
The former Lands Minister argues that the Assin Central MP best reflects the mood of the country as the party looks toward the 2028 general election.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, Mr Amewu said his endorsement was grounded in long-standing personal experience with all the leading figures being discussed within the party.
“I have an opportunity to interact with all the other five candidates,” he said. “So I am in a position to tell you that I have dealt with all these people.”
Mr Amewu traced his interactions with the various figures to his time as Mayor of Hohoe in 2005 and 2006, as well as his years in Cabinet and Parliament.
He said he had “a very good relationship with Kwabena Agyapong,” describing him as “an excellent man of all qualities,” and noted his close working ties with former Education Minister Dr Yaw Adutwum, Bryan Acheampong and former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
“I dealt with him, and we sat in the cabinet together. I worked under his economic management team as a team player,” he said of Dr Bawumia.
Despite acknowledging the strengths of all the candidates, the former Railway Minister said the choice before the party could not be approached in the usual way.
“All five of those candidates are exceptionally good candidates,” he said. “But we need a medium through which our party will be united. The election that is coming up in 2028 is not a normal election.”
He said his conclusion was shaped by feedback from across society.
“I have listened to the ground. I have listened to the taxi drivers. I have listened to the market women. I’ve gone to the hospital. I listened to the nurses, the doctors and the general population,” he said.
According to him, the demand he encountered repeatedly pointed in one direction.
“And so this election, it’s not because Kennedy is an individual,” he said. “Kennedy is just a medium. The whole nation wants Kennedy.”
When host Evans Mensah challenged the claim that the “whole nation” wanted Kennedy Agyapong, Mr Amewu doubled down, pointing to what he described as the candidate’s electoral advantage.
“The competitive advantage Kennedy has for me, which makes me side with him in this particular election, is the call by the citizens that are going to vote,” he said.
He explained that elections are shaped by key swing factors, which he said account for between 65 and 70 per cent of electoral outcomes. These include both external factors, such as economic performance, and internal attributes of the candidate.
“The internal ones have to talk about the empathy of the individual, his leadership skills, his level of collaborations, his attentiveness, his vision,” he said.
After weighing these factors, Mr Amewu said Kennedy Agyapong stood out.
“When I have examined all these other five candidates, the best among them, the one that is most competitive in terms of this internal environment issue, is Kennedy Ohene Agyapong,” he said.
He added that his assessment was informed by direct personal engagement with the Assin Central MP.
“Most people may not have a direct relationship or have dealt with Kennedy directly. I have had this opportunity with my experience as a minister and MP,” he said.
While maintaining that the other contenders were strong, Mr Amewu said the 2028 election would test political weight and public backing in a way that favours Kennedy Agyapong.
“When it comes to the 2028 election, they may not be on the same level of platform with Kennedy in terms of the weight that people may have behind him,” he said.
“And so I think that Kennedy has this competitive advantage over the others,” he added. “This basically explains the rationale. I think Kennedy is the best.”
The comments come as the NPP begins early conversations about its future leadership following its loss of power, with several senior figures already being mentioned as possible flagbearer candidates for the 2028 polls.
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