The Chiefs and people of Nkroful, the hometown of Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, have officially accepted the apology of Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, also known as NAPO, the running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), following his controversial remarks comparing President Akufo-Addo to Nkrumah.
During his introduction as the NPP’s running mate in Kumasi on Tuesday, July 9, Dr. Opoku Prempeh claimed that President Akufo-Addo had outperformed Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. This statement sparked widespread criticism across the nation. While some Ghanaians outrightly rejected the comparison, others took issue with the manner in which it was presented.
Acknowledging the backlash, NAPO issued a public apology for his comments. However, the chiefs of Nkroful requested a personal apology before they could fully accept his regret.
In response, during a tour of Nzemaland, NAPO made a significant stop in Nkroful to directly address the issue. Speaking to the gathered chiefs and people, he expressed his respect for Dr. Nkrumah and explained that his previous comments had been misconstrued.
“I lived with Nzema people when I was growing up. Nzema people and I are one people. I will never disrespect Nkrumah in any way, anybody who attempts to disrespect Nkrumah will face the consequences of his actions.
“Nkrumah has done so much for the country. I was misconstrued, but I apologised to Ghanaians and I stand here before you to apologise for my comments again, forgive me, we’re all one people,” NAPO stated.
Nana Kwasi Kutua, the chief of Nkroful, accepted the apology on behalf of the community.
“NAPO’s comments received wide condemnation from Ghanaians because it was uncalled for. We hail the actions of Ghanaians, we thank them. We need to recognise that Nkrumah did a great job for the country.
“We’re a peaceful people, we don’t like violence, and we don’t want a situation where chaos will erupt in Ghana because of the Nzema people. We heard that NAPO apologised to Ghanaians for his comments. But he needed to come to Nzema to personally apologise to the traditional leaders and re-affirm his regrets.
“Today, he has asked for forgiveness from the chiefs, this is what we have all been waiting for, and so we accept his apology,” said Nana Kwasi Kutua.
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