The Vice President, Dr. Mahammudu Bawumia, will officially launch his campaign this month, The Chronicle has learnt.
Though the exact date and location for the much-awaited outdooring are yet to be announced, information indicates that it will be a few days after filing his nomination, which is about two weeks away.
The Chronicle has also reliably gathered that the Vice President’s campaign launch may happen in either Ashanti or the Central Region, on a weekend.
Launching his campaign would officially commence strategies to solicit votes to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as its flagbearer for the 2024 presidential election.
On Tuesday, a member of his campaign team for the flagbearer position, Mr Fred Oware, went to the Asylum Down head office of the NPP to pick up nomination forms, which was later presented to him at Jubilee House.
TIMELINES
The NPP, at its National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Council meetings held on Monday, April 3, 2023 approved the timelines for holding the party’s presidential primaries.
The party opened nominations on Friday, May 26, 2023 and is expected to close them on Saturday, June 24, 2023.
A special electoral college would take place on Saturday, August 26, 2023 and the national congress is slated for Saturday, November 4, 2023.
In all these, the Vice President has yet to openly speak on his bid, apart from his meeting with the Majority Caucus not long ago, where he informed them of his decision.
On some platforms, the Vice President has also made indirect statements, including the famous “it is possible,” leaving no reason to doubt that he was sending a message about his desire to become the next president after his boss, President Akufo-Addo.
It was not long after making that statement at an event, which subsequently went viral on social media, that he met the Majority Caucus.
Social media is awash with expectations for the Vice President, who entered politics as an economist but metamorphosed into a digitalizer. Ghanaians are in an expectant mood to see the policy proposals Dr. Bawumia will make at his lunch. However, the vice president picking nomination forms this week has now confirmed his readiness to lead the NPP in the 2024 elections.
DECLARATION
The Vice President made his intentions known to the NPP parliamentarians last month. Earlier, some members of parliament, numbering about 98 out of the 136 members of the NPP, openly declared their support for his candidacy.
The Vice President later met with the Majority Caucus in Parliament and officially informed them of his intention to contest the presidential primary slated for November 4 this year.
This disclosure to the Majority Caucus in Parliament was reiterated at an informal meeting with NPP supporters in Hohoe over the weekend.
“I want you to know that I appreciate your support. We are going to break the 8. First of all, we are going to file for the flagbearership, which I’m going to do, win the flagbearership, break the eight, and go to Jubilee House. That is what I’m going to do,” Dr. Bawumia noted.
Meanwhile, party supporters have resorted to leveraging social media to champion the cause of the Vice President, Dr. Mahammudu Bawumia.
Several posts are made of him at the speed of light to the effect that “he is next to lead,” even before he would officially communicate publicly about his ambition.
