Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh’s failure to apologise to Ghanaians for asking them to provide their own load shedding also known as ‘dumsor‘ timetable, was when Martin Kpebu realised he is not fit for the office of Vice President.
The private legal practitioner says the lawmaker’s reaction after several calls for him to retract and apologise for the comments deemed insulting by the public, was when he realised arrogance was the Energy Minister, also known as Nana Poku’s (NAPO) attribute.
His comments come on the back of an apology issued by NAPO in relation to a recent comment he made about Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s founder and first President, to the effect that his achievements which are globally recognised, cannot be compared to that of President Akufo-Addo.
“I can boldly say that if the history of Ghana is told from 1957, we have never had a president that has helped Ghana more than Nana Akufo-Addo. I mean from 1957, even including your Kwame Nkrumah, none of them has protected Ghana and developed the country more than Nana Akufo-Addo,” he said at his unveiling as running mate to Bawumia Tuesday, July 09, 2024 at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi.
He stressed that, “President Akufo-Addo has developed this country to the admiration of all. Therefore, we will not allow what happened in 2008 to repeat itself. It will be most appropriate for Nana Akufo-Addo to hand over to his junior brother, Dr Bawumia.”
Although he was rebuked for the comments, he stood by his words and repeated same a day after. He received further criticisms until he issued an apology which many still deem insulting.
He said “the statement reflects my personal opinion about President Akufo-Addo’s impact relative to other Presidents we have had.
“I wish to emphasise that I never meant to disrespect our former President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah or any of our former heads of state, including my own grand uncle and mentor, Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor,” portions of the statement he issued Friday, July 12, 2024, read.
“I note the concerns raised after my statement. I apologise sincerely and regret any discomfort caused,” it added.
But speaking on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, July 13, 2024, Martin Kpebu said even if NAPO sees all Ghanaians to be fools, he ought to take a listen to what the public say sometimes.
“When I got that feeling that NAPO is not fit for this position is the way he reacted to the dumsor comments. He said there was no dumsor and that the journalist for asking for one, was wishing evil for this nation. And you could see that the whole nation was angry so assuming we were all fools, sometimes you should know that if you are leading, you’re too far ahead of us, the rest of us are fools. It tells you that sometimes you need to pause and see how to engage with us.
“He could have brought an apology on that occasion, [but] he never did. Is it not over three months now? That was when I knew that this guy, he will never be fit for this office,” he asserted.
