Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says his election as the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will have profound implications for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama in their strongholds.
According to him, the NDC and its leader are concerned that he will be the man to be beaten if he becomes the NPP flagbearer, claiming that he will give the NDC a showdown in the various Zongo areas in 2024.
Dr. Bawumia told party delegates in the Oti Region’s Nkwanta South Constituency that if he becomes the party’s presidential candidate, the NPP will flip the Zongo votes.
“If you listen to what the Zongo communities across the country are saying, it is a very welcome development. People in the Zongo are skeptical that the NPP will choose me as its presidential candidate.
“However, if they do, they (the Zongo people) will vote massively for me,” Dr. Bawumia stated, and continued, “If I contest in 2024, the Northern Regions and the Zongos, the two strongholds of the [NDC], will fall to the NPP, and if they fall, the NDC cannot win the elections.”
He also stated that he will garner more votes for the NPP in the Volta Region, which is the traditional stronghold of the NDC.
“This explains their fear of Dr. Bawumia because they fully understand that if I am the NPP candidate in December 2024, I will give them a showdown,” he said.
Dr. Bawumia, who is gunning to lead the NPP as its presidential candidate in the 2024 general election, is on a three-day campaign tour to the Oti Region, meeting delegates in all eight constituencies.
So far, his campaign has taken him to all 34 Greater Accra Region constituencies and all 47 Ashanti Region constituencies.
He has again visited all 17 Western Region constituencies and 23 Central Region constituencies as well as each of the Eastern Region’s 33 constituencies.
He has made trips to 154 of the country’s 275 constituencies and will focus on the Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo regions.
By Ernest Kofi Adu