Threats to vote against NPP do not scare me …Akufo-Addo calls bluff in Ashanti

President Akufo-Addo has called the bluff of disillusioned Ghanaians who have publicly threatened to vote against the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 general elections in protest of bad roads in their communities.

The President, in two quick responses to such threats, said such talks do not frighten him and moreover they are not necessary because with or without such threats he already knows he has a responsibility to deliver on his mandate and he is working on that mandate.

Nana Akufo-Addo stated further that no voter can be forced to vote in a particular way therefore if a voter decides to vote for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), that would be a choice left for the voter in question and not a concern he, the President should be perturbed about.

President Akufo-Addo made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview he granted Otec 02.9 FM in Kumasi.

The hose of the show, Captain Koda, told President Akufo-Addo that residents of Kwabre and Manso in the Ashanti Region had threatened to vote against the NPP in the next elections if the bad roads in their communities were not fixed.

This was how the President responded:

“NO PROBLEM. NO PROBLEM. I AM SAYING PEOPLE MAKE THOSE KINDS OF THREATS; ME, THEY DO NOT FRIGHTEN ME. SOMEBODY VOTES FOR YOU, SOMEBODY SUPPORTS YOU; IT IS BECAUSE THEY WANT YOU TO DO THINGS FOR THEM AND I UNDERSTAND THAT. THERE IS NO NEED FOR PEOPLE TO GO TO SAY IF YOU DO NOT DO IT THEN THIS AND THAT. THAT ONE IS THEIR OWN PROBLEM”.

The host, Captain Koda, then asked the President if he would get the roads in question fixed. Again this was how President Akufo-Addo responded:

“OF COURSE, I WOULD GET IT DONE. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO ISSUES OF VOTES AND YOU DECIDE TO VOTE FOR THE NDC, THAT IS YOUR OWN PROBLEM, IT IS NOT MY PROBLEM. NOBODY WOULD HOLD YOUR HAND TO THUMBPRINT ANY WHERE, THAT ONE IS YOUR OWN DUTY. THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT I HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY AND I UNDERSTAND THE RESPONSIBILITY. AND WE WILL DEAL WITH IT”, President Akufo-Addo added.

The response of Nana Addo has not gone down well with some residents of Kumasi who in return have accused him of showing disrespect to the people of Manso and Kwabre, where the late Sir John, a former General Secretary of the NPP hails from.