New Patriotic Party flagbearer hopeful, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has stated that his immediate reaction to alleged incidents of threats and intimidation saved the life of an agent who represented him in the North East Region during the party’s Special Delegates Conference.
The Assin Central Member of Parliament in the early hours of Saturday, August 26, 2023 was captured on video expressing fury over some treatment being meted out to his agents.
In his moment of anger, Agyapong was heard saying he was going to give President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia who is also a candidate in the race a “showdown” over the incident.
Reacting for the first time following varied public reactions to his outburst, Kennedy Agyapong in a Twitter post said his actions on Saturday saved the life of one of his agents.
He described the treatment of his agents as a case of injustice.
“I reacted against injustice and that saved the life of GANIU one of my polling station agents in North East,” he tweeted.
Accompanying his post was the testimony of one of his agents for North East Region, Ganiu who shared his story of threat, intimidation and inducement at the polling station during the election.
“When the people were lining up to vote they were all showing their vote to the next person following them. After voting, the first three people showed their votes to each other, confusion erupted at the turn of the fourth person who is the regional youth organiser. When that happened, I had been told by my superior, the national campaign manager not to sign the pink sheet.
"Then the regional chairman said they are going to give us some amount of money, GHC2000. I said no, we are not there for money and he insisted that they were going to increase the amount but I said no, whatever amount they were going to give, we were not ready for it.
"So, afterwards we told him we are leaving, myself and the agent of Hon Kyerematen and Kojo Poku’s agent. Then he run and locked the door asking that we better go and sign, if we don’t sign, we were not going to leave the hall.
"Then I said chairman we will not sign because we are under supervision, unless they kill us… He even told us that if we go out, he will allow boys to attack us,” Ganiu alleged during a press conference held by Ken’s campaign team on Monday.
In his immediate statement after Saturday’s election, Kennedy Agyapong said he felt proud and motivated by the support in his camp in the “heat of backbiting, intimidation, and smeared campaign” he suffered and is hopeful of clinching victory in the party’s general delegates election slated for November 4, 2023.
The August 26 election was aimed to pruning the number candidates in the party’s flagbearer race from 10 to five.
Kennedy Agyapong came second with some 132 votes behind vice president Bawumia who polled 629 votes out of the total votes of over 900.
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