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Veteran actress Akofa Edjeani has expressed her belief that there is no issue with artists endorsing and aligning themselves with a specific political party. In an interview on 3FM’s Sunrise, she emphasized that everyone has the right to choose their political affiliations, including creatives.
“I really don’t see anything wrong with it because we all have our political leanings. So, if you’re a creative and you decide to endorse a party, there’s nothing wrong with that,” she explained to host Johnnie Hughes.
Akofa criticized what she described as the “pettiness” of Ghanaians, which she believes has unfairly targeted creatives who publicly support a political party, leading to animosity and repercussions for their careers.
“Your business suffers, everything you do. If your candidate loses and the opponent comes to power, you are finished. They will sabotage everything you do. I think it’s very unfortunate and petty,” she lamented.
Drawing a comparison to the American entertainment industry, Akofa highlighted figures like Oprah Winfrey who openly align with political parties without facing severe consequences for their choices.
Sharing a personal experience, Akofa recounted how during the tenure of the NDC’s flagbearer, she benefited from a policy that provided cars to creatives who couldn’t afford them outright, paying in installments through a designated account. However, she claimed that upon President Akufo-Addo assuming office, her car was inexplicably seized without compensation.
“He [John Mahama] started with 50 cars. They allocated 25 to Kumasi and the North, and 25 to Accra for actors and musicians. These were not luxury cars; I received an i10. When the NPP came into power, my car was taken away,” she recalled.
Akofa recounted how her son, driving the car with a tracker as they were still paying for it, had the vehicle confiscated by authorities after the change in government.
“It had a tracker because we were paying for it. When they came to power, they tracked it. My son was driving it, they stopped him and took the car away,” she narrated.