The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has successfully cleared a major hurdle in his political career, having secured the position of flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He won the flagbearer slot of the NPP with 118,210 votes, representing 61.47%, the highest in the history of the party and for a first timer. The percentage margin comes on the back of the electoral college of the NPP, which has been expanded, as compared to previous elections.
He has also cleared the hurdles of region and ethnicity, as many had doubted that the Dombo section of the NPP would ever have the chance to lead the party.
The election of Dr. Bawumia, a descendent of the Dombo tradition, has thus broken the jinx of a Northerner not leading the NPP, perceived to be an Akan party.
Campaigners for Bawumia, particularly the Akans, did not leave any stone unturned to change the narrative that a Northerner could also lead the NPP and that Dr. Bawumia would make history in that regard.
When the dust settled around 16:00 GMT in Accra on Saturday, November 4, 2023 that the Northerner amongst the four contenders had carried the day, people who hitherto could not openly campaign, began telling the story that NPP is a national party and believes in inclusiveness.
In his address at the rally that outdoored Dr. Bawumia as the new flagbearer, the General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Kodua Frimpong, emphasised that those who said a Northerner could not lead the party had been put to shame.
He said, “The NP can no more and never be tagged as an Akan party because today we have a flagbearer who comes from the northern part of the country.”
SIGNIFICANCE
The NPP flagbearer, Dr. Bawumia, in his first speech, indicated that the significance of the victory was “not lost on me. I am humbled and overwhelmed.”
According to him, when he left Takoradi in 2008, after his outdooring as running mate to commence his journey in politics, he had the arduous task of convincing the country to accept the inclusive and truly national character of the NPP.
He recalled the challenges he faced in communities that accepted the propaganda that the NPP does not treat Northerners well.
“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 remarked.
He further recalled that the inclusive nature of the NPP dominated public discourse when he filed to contest for the flagbearer position, though the party had made some inroads in the north and the Zongos in the 2020 elections.
Vice President Dr. Bawumia views the November 4 decision by the over 200,000 delegates of the party as a reaffirmation of his knowledge and belief that the NPP is truly an inclusive national party.
He thus sent “an invitation” to the people in Ga Mashie, Volta, North and other tribes to join him, saying that “the NPP has a place for you.”
VISION
Dr. Bawumia, the presidential candidate of the ruling NPP joins the 2024 contest on a record which has been dented by the global crisis, despite the gains made in the first term.
The government obviously is not enjoying the goodwill of the people, a situation that positions an alternative presidential candidate as arguably the best option.
In his address on Saturday, the Vice President, who chairs the Economic Management Committee of the Akufo-Addo government acknowledged the challenges and the recovery effort. He underscored that the economy had started picking up again and pledged to continue to support his boss till the end.
He then set the tone by announcing that he has his own vision for the country as a presidential candidate, which would be youth-centered.
“I have my own vision and my own priorities. Given the opportunity by you, the people of Ghana, to lead, I shall govern as my own man, with guidance from God Almighty. My vision is to build an inclusive, food-self-sufficient, data-driven, and systems-based nation that will fully participate in the global digital revolution to solve our problems and also usher in a golden age of benefits from our natural resources.
I want to lead a nation that improves and unleashes the talents of our youth and offers good jobs with good pay and sustainable growth with macroeconomic discipline.
Dr. Bawumia is set to face off with John Dramani Mahama of the NDC, Alan Kyerematen of the Movement for Change, and other candidates in the 2024 presidential election, which is the next hurdle to deal with.
