Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s victory as elected 2024 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has nailed the coffin of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) propaganda against the NPP as an “Akan party”.
The NPP on Saturday, 4th November, 2023 made history by electing Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, as a first non-akan leader to lead the party into the 2024 general elections as its flagbearer.
Dr. Bawumia, the first non-Akan to lead the NPP into a general election since the party was founded in 1992 defeated three other candidates in the NPP flagbearer race, including Kennedy Agyapong, Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and Francis Addai-Nimoh
Certified results announced by the Director of Election of the Electoral Commission, Dr Serebour Quaicoe, revealed that Dr Bawumia polled 118210 votes representing 61.47% while his closest contender Mr Agyapong had 71,996 votes representing 37.41%.
Addressing the party members at his declaration at the Accra Sports Stadium, the Vice President expressed endless gratitude to President Akufo-Addo for his decision in 2008 and his undying confidence in him in the periods of 2012, 2016, and 2020.
According to him “Some analysts were sceptical about my chances and others confidently dismissed the possibility of the NPP electing a candidate from the Northern part of the country. They misconstrued the party’s conservatism to mean tribalism or regionalism. I was certain that they misunderstood this great party and its values because I knew our values of rewarding hard work and dedication would triumph. I knew it was possible”.
“Today’s emphatic decision by the over 200,000 delegates of the NPP, the grassroots of the party, reaffirms my knowledge and belief that the NPP is truly an inclusive national party”.
He said “The delegates, by today’s decision, have resoundingly dismissed any doubts that the NPP is inclusive and rewards hard work. From virtually every constituency in the country, the message has been the same: In the NPP we do not care about where you hail from. We are tolerant of Ghana’s religious diversity. We elect those deserving of leadership, those who are capable of governing, and those with proven traits of integrity, incorruptibility, and hard work”.
Dr. Bawumia added, “With this resounding victory, the NPP is sending an invitation to the men and women in Ga Mashie to join me in this journey of possibilities. The NPP has a place for you”.
On his fellow Muslims, the Vice President said “To our men and women in the Zongos scattered across the 16 regions of Ghana, I say to you that in the NPP, it is possible to rise to the top. I invite you to join me in this journey of possibilities. The NPP has a place for you”.
“To the people of the Volta and Oti Regions, who may have long doubted if you will have a place in the NPP. You have been answered today. I invite you to join me in this journey of possibilities. The NPP has a place for you,” he added.
“To the people of the North, we have often been told that the NPP is not our political home. Today, the delegates have demonstrated absolute confidence in us. I invite you to join me in this journey of possibilities. The NPP has a place for you”.
To the Akans, he said “In the Ashanti Region, the citadel of NPP politics, I have been shown unbelievable love and support. In the Eastern Region, a fortress of our party, the support has been remarkable. In Greater Accra, Western, Western North, Central, as well as the three Bono and Ahafo Regions, I have received tremendous support and love from the rank and file of the NPP”.
He added “In the Volta Region, where our party’s fortunes continue to grow considerably, the support was massive. And the five northern regions (Northern, Savannah, North East, Upper East and Upper West), as they have always done in the past elections, joined the rest of the country, to emphatically vote for the winning candidate”.
He said “I have won convincingly in each of these regions, and this demonstrates an energised party, with absolute confidence in me. I thank every one of you for this massive support, which is also a reflection of the diversely harmonious nature of the NPP. I do not take this support for granted. I will work diligently every day to justify your decision”.
On his journey in life, Dr Bawumia noted that “When I left Takoradi in 2008 that fateful day, after my outdooring as running mate to commence my journey in politics, I had the difficult task of convincing a large part of our country to accept the inclusive and truly national character of the New Patriotic Party. I faced challenges in communities that accepted the decades of propaganda that the NPP was unwelcoming to them”.
He continues “I persevered. I kept going back to those communities election after election and with the same message that the NPP is inclusive and ready to work with every Ghanaian, irrespective of tribe and religion”.
He added that by the election of 2020, the NPP made significant inroads into the North, taking a majority of the seats in the old Northern Region, adding that “We also saw increased support throughout the Zongos in the country. In the Volta Region, we continued to grow in numbers”.
He added, “It has been a remarkable but difficult journey of preaching the inclusive nature of the New Patriotic Party to those who have always viewed our great party with suspicion”.
“The doubts regarding the inclusive character of the NPP dominated the discussion when I took the bold decision on 16th June this year, to file my nomination papers at the NPP headquarters, to contest to be elected as the Presidential Candidate of the party,” the Vice President stated.
–BY Daniel Bampoe