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The Managing Editor of the Daily Dispatch Newspaper, Benjamin Emmanuel Ephson, has advised the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to be intentional in their decision-making processes and implementation of programmes henceforth.
The advice is one of many pointers Mr. Ephson gave the NPP in their bid to hold on to power coming 2024 when Ghana goes to the polls.
“Break the eight” has become a slogan for the party as it determines to be the first to win elections more than twice, consecutively, since the inception of the fourth republic under the 1992 Constitution.
The pollster, giving tips on how to achieve the goal, noted that many governments and Presidents around the world exhibit some recklessness in their last years, considering the slim chances they have to retain power after eight years of governance.
He said that attitude is one that must be stopped, because it affects whoever will replace the President as the leader of the party.
Mr. Ephson cited Nana Akufo-Addo as one of the victims of such situations when he was vying for the flagbearer position in the year 2007.
According him the then President, John Agyekum Kuffour, rooted for Alan Kyerematen who lost to Nana Addo in the primaries.
That position Mr. Kuffour took, the pollster noted, affected the party in their struggle to retain power afterwards, resulting in their loss to the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) John Evans Atta Mills.
He therefore stressed the need for the party to be deliberate in their decisions to achieve the right results particularly choosing of a candidate who will appeal to the delegates.
“You must be able to elect a candidate who will appeal most because whoever comes after Akufo-Addo is going to ride a little over 3 years on what Akufo-Addo will do. We must bear in mind that any president who is in his final year becomes reckless in terms of what they intend to do.
“In their first term, they will persuade people because they need their votes. When they are leaving office, they do whatever they wish because they are no longer coming into power. But if they are not careful, they may ruin their chances of succeeding.
“So the incumbent president has a lot of task to do. He has to look at the things he intends to do and the promises he has made.” said Mr. Ephson on Angel FM’s Anopa Bofoↄ morning show.
