Claim: A viral flyer has alleged that the Vice-Presidential candidate of Ghana’s governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh has asked Ghanaians to vote for the party based on their Akan tribe.
Verdict: False. JUSTFACT GHANA’s investigations have shown that the former Education Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, did not make the alleged claim. Also, Ghana’s Deputy Local Government Minister, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has disclosed to JUSTFACT GHANA that the purported claim is “false and fake.”
Background
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has launched its 2024 Manifesto, promising to create more jobs in the country.
Hours after the launch, a fact card went viral claiming the NPP Vice Presidential candidate, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has asked Ghanaians to vote for the party based on their Akan tribe.
“Don’t vote on hardships alone; consider your tribe an Akan too,” the former energy minister reportedly said.
Dr Opoku Prempeh reportedly made the comment during the launch of the NPP 2024 Manifesto.
Investigations
A probe by JUSTFACT GHANA showed that the NPP Vice Presidential candidate, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, did not make the alleged claim.
“This is fake,” Ghana’s Deputy Local Government Minister, Vincent Ekow Assafuah told JUSTFACT GHANA when he was contacted.
Also, JUSTFACT GHANA reviewed the video of the launch of the NPP 2024 manifesto and found that the former energy minister did not make the purported claim.
JUSTFACT GHANA later contacted Accra-based Citi FM to find out whether they created the flyer with their logo. However, in a Facebook post on Aug. 19, 2024, the media outlet has encouraged its audiences to disregard the fact card.
“Public notice!!! Kindly disregard this fake news card,” the media outlet said.
Conclusion
The NPP Vice Presidential candidate, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, did not ask Ghanaians to vote for the party based on their Akan tribe.
