“I have been deeply honoured by the decision of the super delegates, who have selected me as one of the five candidates to contest the upcoming flagbearership race on November 4, 2023,” Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has said.

According to him, the November 4 election “is not a do-or-die moment for our party; rather, it is an opportunity to choose one among us who will proudly carry the flag of our noble party into the presidential elections on December 7, 2024”.

“It presents us with a chance to unite behind a single leader, not to divide our Party,” he stressed. 

“Over the past two years, I have tirelessly engaged with party delegates to share my vision for our Party and our nation,” Dr Akoto said at press conference held in Accra on Thursday, September 14, 2023.

He was hopeful that the 210,000-plus delegates will select him as their leader, one in whose hands the party will thrive, ultimately to victory in December 2024. 

“My unwavering commitment to the growth of our party is well-known,” he asserted.

He added: “I have played strategic roles such as initiating the formation of overseas branches and serving in opposition leadership in Parliament and as a Cabinet Minister in Government.”

He said that he is counting on these contributions to persuade the delegates to vote overwhelmingly for him on November 4th.

He said: “I am part of the generation of party members whose roots trace back to the very birth of our tradition—the United Party (UP) tradition.”

However, ''I want to make it clear that this heritage doesn't confer a sense of entitlement in this leadership race, he argued. Instead, “it has instilled in me a lifelong commitment to work tirelessly to realize the vision of our founding fathers, upon whose shoulders our tradition and the spirit of the party proudly stand”, he said.

He emphasised that he is fully prepared to work just as hard for whoever the delegates choose to lead the party on November 4, 2023. 

''Our ultimate goal is to ‘break the eight’ and keep the NPP in power.

“I call upon the members of my campaign teams in all electoral areas and constituencies to dedicate themselves to ensuring that all delegates cast their votes resoundingly in my favour (number #3 on the ballot paper).”

“Let us lead the charge for a resounding NPP victory in the December 2024 Presidential elections. I recognize that the road ahead may not be easy, but with determination and the blessings of the Almighty, victory shall be ours”, he concluded.