Executives of Patriotic Movement for Bawumia at the press conference
People who have been knocking on the door of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, to select their favourite candidates as his running mate, have been asked to back off.
According to a group calling itself the Patriotic Movement for Bawumia (PMB), its leadership has been aware that some people have been publicly and persistently putting pressure on Dr. Bawumia by sending various delegations to him with the goal of imposing their preferences on him.
The group, which comprises Constituency Chairmen, Secretaries, Organisers, and Youth Organisers, stated that Dr. Bawumia should be left alone to choose his running mate without harassment from any quarters.
Addressing the media in Kumasi, the group’s spokesperson, James Aggrey Fiifi Eshun, who is the 2nd Vice Chairman for the Oforikrom Constituency, stated that Dr. Bawumia, as a man of his own vision, knows what is best for him and will select the most suitable person as his running mate.
He stated that no amount of demagoguery will force the NPP’s flagbearer to make a decision that is not in the best interests of the party.
He asserted that it is the prerogative of the flagbearer to choose a running mate, and he should not be forced to do so under any circumstances.
The group noted that what it found most disturbing about these shenanigans was the use of threatening language in their requests, saying that such behaviour will no longer be tolerated.
“Why are they making it seem the flagbearer does not have a choice or does not have the courage and capacity to select a running mate for himself?” the PMB quizzed.
The group argued that evidence from Ghana’s political history shows that since the establishment of the Fourth Republic, any presidential candidates who bow to pressures from parochial party groups and members have consistently led their parties to serious electoral defeat.
“We respectfully request that our flagbearer, His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, not allow any individuals or groups to pressure or lure him into selecting a running mate other than his preferred choice,” Fiifi Eshun read the group’s statement.
The statement added that if Dr. Bawumia allows himself to be influenced by persons with narrow interests, the party’s victory in this year’s presidential election will suffer greatly.
“It is disheartening to observe how the NPP members, who must have been vigorously campaigning for our flagbearer, are at this critical juncture, frantically focusing all of their energy on adopting various diabolic strategies to push a running mate on Dr. Bawumia,” the group noted.
“This is absurd and must be condemned by all those who mean well for the party,” it added.
According to the group, it is aware that some of the people whose names have surfaced as potential running mates for Dr. Bawumia are the ones sponsoring news conferences and petition signings in order to force “our flagbearer, Dr. Bawumia, to make them his running mate.”
“NPP flagbearers have always had the liberty and power to choose their preferred running mates, and that the status quo must not be changed in the era of Dr. Bawumia. He is the leader of the party and must be allowed to lead it,” the group posited.
The group declared that its members were not pleased with the recent “sponsored declarations” by some people for a particular person, forcing through the throat of the flagbearer.
By Ernest Kofi Adu