Mr Kennedy Kwasi Kankam, Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso in the Ashanti Region, and musician-turned-politician, Bice Osei Kuffour, widely known as Obour have launched a movement to mobilise other losers at the party’s recently held primaries to campaign for the re-election of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The Nhyiaeso MP, also lost his seat at the recently held primaries. The campaign entity he initiated with Obuor is dubbed: ‘Aspirants Unite 4 Victory Movement.’

Mr Kankam told the Daily Graphic that they had since the June 20 primaries, reached out to a majority of the MPs who lost at the primaries, to join forces to ensure President Akufo-Addo was returned to power at the next presidential election.

The Nhyiaeso MP pointed out that other personalities that would team up with him and Obour to spearhead activities of the movement include Ben Abdallah Banda of Offinso South Constituency in the Ashanti Region; Abibata Shanni Mahama Zakariah from Yendi Constituency in the Northern Region and Ken Kuranchie of Okaikoi North in Greater Accra.

Collectively

Others are Mark Assibey-Yeboah of New Juaben South Constituency in the Eastern Region and Seth Kwame Acheampong from Mpraeso Constituency in the Eastern Region. They are collectively working under the ‘#AspirantsU4Victory’ tag.

According to Mr Kankam, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly called Chairman Wontumi, has welcomed the movement and said it would help bolster the party’s campaign toward the December elections.

Digital media

He said the movement would run an elaborate digital media and field voter outreach campaign aimed at urging supporters of all the party’s unsuccessful candidates at the primaries, to overcome their pain and bond with the party to retain power in December.

According to Obour, who also lost his bid to represent the Asante Akyem South Constituency, a good number of the losers at the primaries are already urging their followers to go out and register at the ongoing voter registration exercise to enable them to vote massively for the NPP in December.

“So many big names in the party, including sitting MPs, have lost their seats and understandably, not everyone has come to terms with the defeat and that is not good for the party as the general election approaches,” Obour said.

Independent

According to sources close to the movement, a number of the defeated candidates at the primaries have since had so many calls in their respective constituencies urging them to go independent.

Some of their keen followers have also threatened to vote for the opposition in a ‘skirt-and-blouse’ manner; a situation which led to the formation of the movement.

About the need for the movement to help retain President Akufo-Addo in office, Mr Kankam said it was necessary since the country was on the verge of a tremendous turnaround in areas such as the economy, education and agriculture.

“In the next few years, everyone will see an economic renaissance. The more reasons for continuity,” the Nhyiaeso MP said.

Already, there are videos and creative online material urging voters to join the movement.