Running mate to the NPP flagbearer, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, says his decision to serve in politics was not an accident, but the outcome of deep values he was raised on.

One rooted in public service, sacrifice, and meaningful contribution to society.

“I would say that is how I was brought up. I was brought up in a very politically aware family with a history of decades of partisan politics or active political life. That’s how I was brought up,” he said in a revealing interview on Personality Profile with Emefa Adeti on JoyNews’ Personality Profile.

NAPO, as he is widely known, reflected on the defining influence of his upbringing. He said it was not just about being politically aware, but about the value placed on service that makes a difference.

“I was brought up to cherish one thing, public service, and not only public service, but bringing value through public service and for public service, meaning you just don’t participate. You participate in terms of regular impact,” he said.

He explained that growing up among much older relatives who had already built legacies in political and civic life shaped his mindset.

He was made to understand early that public duty meant more than just showing up; it meant proving oneself worthy of sitting at the table where real decisions are made.

“That is how I was brought up, brought up to prove myself that I can sit at the table with decision makers, and not only the elderly, but a true decision maker. So brought up by grand uncles and uncles far older than myself, whose children were far older than me, and I served all of them, so that’s how I was brought up.”

Public service, to him, became a lifelong orientation. Not just a profession, not a career, but a way of being. And even in his youth, he gravitated toward roles and organisations that reflected those values.

“So me growing up having public service has been a duty that has been imprinted in my heart, mind, and everything I do, so even deciding to belong to which associations growing up were all the associations that brought public service to the fore, like joining the Boy Scouts at a very early age, being an altar boy. Not only that, joining the Red Cross Society, going to do medicine and public service.”

From becoming a medical doctor to entering politics, Dr. Opoku Prempeh sees all of it as different expressions of the same principle—helping others.

“The only difference is that some public service duties are very, very small, personal, but really impactful, and some are large and maybe impactful.”

He shared vivid imagery from his days as a doctor—moments when saving one life meant everything to that individual and brought unmatched satisfaction.

“So being a doctor, you are serving one person at a time, and it could be very, very impactful for somebody who needs surgery, who is dying in agony, and you go in and you repair a strangled hernia or a rotten appendix or something, and you relieve his frustration. He sleeps well, and it brings a lot of joy to your heart and everything.”

But it is in politics, he believes, that the scale of public service expands—where decisions are made that could change entire communities and futures.

“It’s limited, because when you put it around being a politician with making decisions that are life changing for suites of the society, probably forever.”

For Dr. Opoku Prempeh, public service has never been a slogan. It has been the rhythm of his life.