Kwadwo Nsafoah Poku, an energy expert, is optimistic about his chances of winning the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer election.

On Monday, July 3, the party’s vetting committee examined three candidates, including him. Additionally examined were former Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

After his evaluation, Mr. Poku spoke with journalists and claimed that everything went smoothly and that the Committee members had given him a tacit endorsement.

He said that the committee members’ cheers were a sign of their approval of his performance during the vetting.

“Everything went well, the conversation was smooth. I answered all the questions they asked to the best of my ability. When you finish speaking and people are able to clap for you, then it means they are impressed with what you have told them. And after the end, I got a clap.”
Kwadwo Poku

Kwadwo Poku, an NPP flagbearer hopeful, asserted that the nation’s youth support him for the position. He was sure he would get through the vetting process and go to the presidential candidate stage.

He claimed that the vetting committee’s job was to evaluate the prospective candidates’ skills and decide whether or not they were eligible to run for president. The committee will also evaluate potential candidates’ capacity to lead the party, he continued.

Kwadwo Poku said that he satisfies all requirements for being elected as the NPP’s presidential candidate, and that the party will take these into account along with whether the candidates are competent to be elected.

He stated that the candidates who picked up nomination papers were qualified to run for office and that it was the responsibility of the vetting committee to check them out. When asked what his position would be if he were disqualified and whether that could mean there had not been a level playing field, he responded; “I do not expect that to happen, but there are also processes for redress. If the committee believes you have not answered a question satisfactorily and does not recommend you, there is a redress process in which you can appeal to the national executive council and then to the national council.”

The committee’s members are all seasoned NPP members, so he felt sure the vetting would be fair. He made it clear that he intended to run for President and that he would be among the final candidates considered.

The remainder are either current or former members of Parliament (MPs) or Ministers of state, with Mr. Poku being the only candidate who has never held a public office in an NPP administration.

The vetting results will be made public on Friday, July 21, and voting will take place on Monday, July 24.

Alan Describes Vetting As ‘Familiar And Comfortable’

Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, a former Minister of trade and industry, was the first potential flagbearer for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to undergo vetting in the run-up to the presidential primaries on November 4.

The committee, which was led by Prof. Mike Oquaye, conducted Mr. Kyerematen’s vetting on Monday, July 3.

When nominations started last month, the former Ghanaian ambassador to the US was also the first to pick up his papers and paid GH50,000 for them.

However after his vetting, Mr. Kyerematen said the procedure was “familiar and comfortable” because it was not his first in the party’s history, since he run for NPP’s Flagbearer position since 2007.

In full accordance with the rules set down by the ruling party, he refused to provide specifics on the exercise.

As he starts his campaign to win over NPP delegates, the former trade Minister underlined his planned innovation of public durbars across the nation. The public durbars begin on Tuesday, July 4 in the Greater Accra Region.