Deputy Information Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has warned that the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) will pay dearly for their handling of the case of Assin North MP Ken Agyapong. He said the party would lose a huge chunk of votes from first time voters who want peace in Ghana. The minister was speaking on Alhaji and Alhaji, a current affairs programme on Radio Gold Saturday. The NPP, though has condemned and dissociated itself from inflammatory utterances by Mr Ken Agyapong, stood firmly behind him throughout his ordeal with security officials. The party gave the MP a heroic welcome at its party headquarters Thursday after Ken was granted bail twice by two different courts. But Mr Ablakwa, who described the MP’s comments as disgusting and shameful, said for their “official sanctioning and celebration of the most murderous statements ever made”, the NPP will be in opposition for a long time. The Minister explained that young Ghanaians who have now registered to vote for the first time would want to live in peaceful coexistence with their friends from other parts of the country and would therefore view the MP’s comments as a potential threat to their future. The NPP, he maintained, was being hypocritical by refusing to condemn outrightly the comments of Mr Agyapong and bemoaned what he said was the celebration of a villain. Mr Ablakwa urged all Ghanaians to be assertive in condemning people who try to incite tribes against each other and called on the Attorney General’s department to ‘rescue their reputation’ as far as this case was concerned.