Minister of Education, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh (NAPO) has dismissed suggestions that he is arrogant, a claim which is widely speculated as evident in his public discourse.
He indicated that he is not arrogant as people perceive him to be but confident and speaks his mind on matters that involve him and that has rather been misconstrued by many as a mark of arrogance.
“Kwame in Ghana when you are bold, confident and speak your mind without recourse to intimidation, people see you as an arrogant person. I have heard people say I am arrogant. If you speak your mind people say you are arrogant. People pay others to go on radio and accuse me of being arrogant but it is typical of Ghanaians”, he said this during an interview on Kumasi based radio station.
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According to him, anything is possible in politics as one’s political opponents can deliberately paint him or her black to suit what they think of him.
Asked by host if he is bothered for being tagged arrogant, he responded “I am not bothered at all” adding; “I have even been accused of being impotent because of politics”
Assessing himself, he revealed that he is rather a very humble person who has learnt under the tutelage of experienced lawmakers like Frederick Opare-Ansah and Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu.
“I humbled myself and they thought me what I never knew. I never missed parliament as a first-timer and they took me through parliamentary proceedings. I asked questions when I came across an issue I had little or no knowledge about. I have never been a chairman or ranking member of any committee in parliament but I learned a lot from these two people”, he revealed.
NAPO, as he is affectionately called, is the MP for Manhyia South in Kumasi. He was first elected to parliament in 2008 on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party and reelected in 2012. In 2016, he was re-elected with 35,958 votes representing 87.17%.