Former President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Bice Osei Kuffuor, popularly known as Obour, has joined forces with some leading members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to rally support for the Nana Akufo-Addo government in the December general election.
In June this year, Obour contested in the party’s primaries and lost to the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the Asante Akyem South Constituency, Asante Boateng.
He has joined other candidates who also lost in the primaries to launch a movement aimed at mobilising grassroots supporters of the party across the country to campaign for the party and help in its bid to retain power at the December polls.
The movement, dubbed: ‘Aspirants Unite for Victory’ (#AspirantsU4Victory), has some influential party members spearheading it.
They include Kennedy Kwasi Kankam (Nhyiaeso Constituency), Ben Abdallah Banda (Offinso South Constituency), Abibata Shanni Mahama Zakariah (Yendi Constituency), Ken Kuranchie (Okaikoi North Constituency), Mark Assibey-Yeboah (New Juaben South Constituency) and Seth Kwame Acheampong (Mpraeso Constituency).
Mr Kuffour noted that many big names in the party, including sitting MPs with huge following, all lost their seats at the primaries and not everyone had come to terms with the defeat, saying, it was “not good” for the party as it prepared to go into elections.
He, therefore, urged followers of the party to register in the ongoing voters’ registration exercise and vote massively for the NPP come December 2020.
Speaking on the need to retain President Akufo-Addo in power, Mr Kankam, who ran and lost at the Nhyiaeso Constituency, explained that Ghana is on the verge of “tremendous” turnaround which would give rise to an economic renaissance.
“We are on the verge of tremendous turnaround in Ghana’s development, especially on the economy, education, agriculture, etc. In the next few years everyone will see an economic renaissance. The more reason for continuity,” he stressed.
Recounting how the movement was birthed, Mr Kankam said a number of the defeated aspirants had so many calls in their respective constituencies pushing for them to go independent.
A lot of their keen followers also threatened to vote for the opposition in a “skirt-and-blouse manner,” a situation which led to the formation of #AspirantU4Victory Movement.