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Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner, has said the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, does not usually look the part for the presidency.
According to Martin Kpebu, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah can rise to become the president of Ghana, but his challenge will be public perception and optics.
He noted that Asiedu Nketiah’s main hurdle would be how Ghanaians perceive him visually and stylistically as a presidential candidate.
Speaking on a panel discussion on Joy FM on September 21, 2025, Kpebu stated, “Let’s be blunt. When it comes to optics, generally speaking, Asiedu Nketiah doesn’t usually look the part for presidency. That’s just the truth”.
He, however, argued that Ghanaian voters may eventually move beyond optics.
Lawyer Kpebu added, “People said Akufo-Addo had the swag, but where did we end up? Corruption worsened, freedoms were suppressed, and the economy tanked. So maybe a time will come when we look beyond optics and focus on substance”.
The private legal practitioner also highlighted that the NDC will enjoy the goodwill among the electorate.
He argued that the over 1.6 million-vote difference between President John Mahama and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia cannot be erased in just one electoral cycle.
Lawyer Kpebu noted that if Asiedu Nketia win the primaries, the whole NDC machinery will be behind him.
“If he wins the primaries, he can make it because that means the whole party machinery and even John Mahama himself will rally behind him. With a first-past-the-post system and 50% plus one, he can scrape through”, Kpebu explained.
Meanwhile, Asiedu Nketia has come under criticism following his decision to embark on a “Thank You Tour”.
However, the NDC Chairman revealed that his Thank You tour is to appreciate party executives and grassroots organisers for their contributions to the party’s 2024 Election victory.
According to Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the NDC campaign was in three folds, one led by President John Dramani Mahama, another by the Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and the third by the National Chairman.
Asiedu Nketiah highlighted that while President Mahama focused on the presidential race, he was tasked with steering the parliamentary campaign.
Speaking to party executives and members in the Akuapem North Constituency on Thursday, September 18, 2025, Asiedu Nketia stated, “Indeed, it is true that President Mahama is already thanking Ghanaians in regional capitals. When I was coming, people were saying the president had already thanked us, so what am I coming to do? I told them, during the campaign, the President took his part, and I also took my party, so the places I went to campaign, I informed them after the election, and NDC won, I would come back to thank them. So that is why I am here today”.
Also, Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), defended Johnson Asiedu Nketia’s ‘Thank You’ tour.
According to Sammy, there is nothing unusual about Asiedu Nketia’s ‘Thank You’ tour as he is not going on a personal capacity but as the chairman of the party.
Speaking in an interview on JoyNews, Sammy Gyamfi detailed, “What is unusual… It is the party; I wouldn’t say the chairman is going on a thank-you tour. Because he’s not going in his personal capacity, he’s going as chairman of the party, and the party is behind him.
I’ve been given another assignment, and I’m sure leadership appreciates it. Of course, the national chairman doesn’t move alone. We have a leader, John Mahama, but he has a government to run, and it’s not everything that he can do. There are many places that the President would have loved to go to thank people, so the party must provide that auxiliary or complementary role”, he added.
Sammy Gyamfi further clarified the source of funding for the tour, saying, “I’ve not spoken to him; I’ve not spoken to the General Secretary, so I wouldn’t know, but I’d be surprised if the party is financing it, because that is usually not the practice. The usual practice is that national officers have to raise funds on their own to finance their activities. It is only a few activities that the party, when it is able, can support.
I cannot tell where the funding for that is coming from unless I talk to the chairman. But the national chairman — I would not be surprised if he’s financing this largely by himself”, Sammy Gyamfi explained.
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