'Winning NPP parliamentary primary in Ejisu was a difficult battle'

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), John Kumah has said his victory in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) primary in the Ejisu constituency did not come on a silver platter.

Mr. Kumah told Citi News it took consistent campaigning and keeping a good relationship with constituents to win the primary last Saturday.

He also admitted that his campaign message was strong enough to court the needed support.

“The grace of God and some little favour and luck. It was a very difficult battle, but I think that it was more of my regular touch with the grassroots and then when I lost the last time I had a good relationship with them. I continuously took part in campaigns.”

“I even became the Electoral Area Coordinator for my town to improve my regular consistency and constant touch. I think all these things worked together, but most importantly the message–the message of hope and a new direction for the Ejisu constituency and making my programmes clearer to them. I think eventually they decided to vote for me,” he said.

Outlining his plans for the constituency, Mr. Kumah said he intends providing infrastructure and jobs for his constituents.

“A lot has been done in Ejisu but we need to do a lot more especially in terms of infrastructure, roads and job creation. We have Bonwire which is the centre for Kente. It is one of our national inheritance. One of the heritages in Ghana that we need to protect and add value and create more opportunities for the youth in Ejisu.”

“We are bringing new ideas on the table. At the national level, we want to work hard and make sure we win 2020 and win massively. We need to increase the votes in Ejisu compared to what we got in the 2016 elections so there is a lot on the table for us to work on.”

John Kumah polled 397 as against his contenders, the incumbent MP and Deputy Roads Minister, Kwabena Owusu-Aduomi and Abena Poku who had 307 and 5 respectively.