It will need an independent candidate to change Ghana. — JOY

Jacob Osei Yeboah (JOY), an independent presidential candidate for the general elections in 2012 and 2016, has claimed that it will just take one non-partisan candidate to alter and advance the nation. JOY

He said that by breaking up Ghana’s duopoly of the two major political parties, the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), a nonpartisan alternative would unite the country and reshape the political landscape.

After former New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag candidate Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen decided to run as an independent in the 2024 general election, Mr. Yeboah made the comments in an interview with the Daily Graphic. JOY

Right decision

The two-time independent presidential candidate praised Mr. Kyerematen for his courageous and wise decision to leave the NPP and expose the nation’s corrupt political system.

“Alan Kyerematen has seen the light, wants to leave the corrupt system, and wants to identify himself with credible alternatives,” he claimed.

Mr. Yeboah emphasized that it would only take a non-partisan candidate to unite the country after claiming that Mr. Kyerematen had started speaking in independent candidate-like terms.

“Ghana voted for many independent Members of Parliament (MPs) in the elections of 1954, and there will be a repeat in the general election of 2024 as we will have many Ghanaians voting for an independent president and parliamentarians,” he stated. JOY

He characterized Mr. Kyerematen as being more devout and trustworthy than some religious leaders who were unwilling to speak out against the corrupt government but bold enough to speak out against LGBTQI, thereby implying that their actions supported corruption.

But as this new door begins to open, he continued, “We are hoping that our religious and traditional leaders will repent and begin to support the fight against corruption not because they stand to gain, but rather because they care.” JOY

Welcomed

Mr. Yeboah praised Mr. Kyeremanten for joining the nonpartisan alternative and welcomed him, expressing his hope that he would grow into the great evangelist for the Ghana First Coalition (GFC) that both the nation and Africa need.

“We call on all those who want to stand as non-partisan candidates, we are going to support not only presidential but parliamentary candidates,” he said. “We hope that he will be led by the things he has said.”

“While we don’t require a coup d’état, we do require candidates whose skills may be used for the benefit of the following generation.

Our politicians need to be taught what actual leadership is, he remarked.

He consequently counseled Mr. Kyeremanten to be open to healthy competition rather than to feel entitled to the presidency at any cost.

On the GFC platform, there are a lot of influential figures and thought leaders who want to see change for the younger generation. JOY

People are rising up and fighting for the future of the next generation, and Ghana needs change, he said.

Although Mr. Yeboah acknowledged that running as an independent candidate would not be simple, he suggested that since a non-partisan option was successful in Benin, it was conceivable in 2024.

Appealed

Mr. Yeboah urged the traditional and religious leaders of the nation to speak out against corruption by exposing its practices rather than remaining silent.

He claimed that because they were unable to achieve this, politicians were allowed to plunder the national coffers at the expense of the people who were still experiencing financial troubles with no signs of improvement.

He emphasized that because corruption had become entrenched in traditional and religious structures, its leaders were powerless to persuade legislators to do away with the disease.

Goal of the GFC

The GFC’s co-founder, Mr. Yeboah, claimed that the organization’s goal was to unite all independent candidates under one banner in order to promote one of them nationally.

Every nonpartisan candidate, according to him, must pass the credibility test to see whether the electorate will support them.

“GFC accepts and welcomes anyone who presents himself as an independent presidential aspirant based on the person’s track record and integrity,” he declared.

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