Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has presented the name of Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, aka NAPO, as his running mate to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as the dust settles on the selection of the party’s running mate.
The Vice President, according to sources, consulted the president at the Jubilee House on his choice of a running mate for the December 7 presidential election on Tuesday night, where President Akufo-Addo offered some advice to the NPP leader and accepted his choice.
In the coming days, Dr. Mahamaudu Bawumia is expected to meet with the party’s national council to formally present his choice before he makes a formal announcement.
On June 15, 2024, a survey believed to have been conducted by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) indicated that the Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, was widely preferred among party members to be the running mate to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Bawumia. The survey engaged 5,116 NPP delegates nationwide, including national, regional, constituency, and polling station executives, where Dr. Opoku Prempeh secured 76.2% of the responses.
Another survey, released by Research Trust Limited, a research entity affiliated with the pro-NPP think tank Danquah Institute (DI), reveals that 70% of respondents prefer Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh as the ideal running mate to partner with New Patriotic Party flagbearer, Dr. Bawumia for the 2024 general elections.
The survey gathered views from NPP executives at polling stations, constituency, regional, and national levels across the 16 regions. Which focused on the regional preferences of NPP executives for a potential running mate and showed that about nine in 10 executives (92%) preferred the running mate to come from the Ashanti Region.
Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, 56, is currently the Minister for Energy and Member of Parliament for Manhyia South Constituency, a seat he has occupied since 2008.
Born on Thursday, 23rd May, 1968, Dr. Prempeh is a native of PAKYI-NO 2, in the Ashanti Region.
He is a former Minister of Education and a medical doctor.
He had his post-graduate studies at the Netherlands Institute of Health Sciences and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
He also studied ‘Human Biology and Medicine’ at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Before joining Parliament in 2009, Dr. Prempeh served as Chief Executive Officer of KeyedMap Security Services Limited from 2004 to 2009 and as a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2003, serving the National Health Service, United Kingdom, as Senior Health Officer.
Dr. Prempeh also had a short stint at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital as a medical officer from 1995 to 1997.
In his last four terms in Parliament, Dr. Prempeh served on several Parliamentary Committees, such as Health, Appointments, Special Budget, and Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation.