The Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, popularly called Abronye DC, has defended former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia against claims by some party members that he was a poor candidate responsible for the NPP’s loss in the 2024 general elections.
Abronye dismissed arguments from polling station executives and a group within the party calling for Bawumia to be dropped as the NPP’s presidential candidate for the 2028 elections.
In a fierce rebuttal, he asserted that the defeat was not due to Bawumia’s candidacy but rather a culmination of broader issues.
Addressing the controversy during a radio programme after a group in the Ashanti Region held a press conference to criticize the 2024 NPP Presidential Candidate, Abronye emphasized Bawumia’s pivotal role in the NPP’s 2016 electoral triumph.
He argued that Bawumia’s contributions were instrumental and should not be overshadowed by the 2024 defeat.
“When it comes to the NPP victory in 2016, I can say that Dr. Bawumia worked harder than even the presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. That victory—you cannot take Bawumia out of it. The facts and figures backed by data that he presented to the Ghanaian people were true and led us to win the 2016 election,” he stated.
He rejected the notion that Bawumia’s performance in 2024—where he secured 41% of the vote marks him as a failure.
According to him, external factors influenced the 2024 election outcome and had nothing to do with the NPP candidate.
“A lot of things happened. I don’t believe that it was Bawumia who caused those things to happen for the NPP to lose the election. It is not about a bad candidate—things happened,” he said.
Abronye pointed to John Dramani Mahama’s persistence as a candidate despite earlier losses.
He argued that Mahama, as a sitting president, secured 44% of the vote in the 2016 election and lost to the opposition candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo.
“If we go for an election and the flagbearer as a Vice President gets 41% compared to a sitting president who got 44%, who has done well?“ he questioned.
“The NDC did not, however, see their candidate, John Mahama, as a bad choice and presented him as their presidential candidate twice. Therefore, the NPP should not reject their defeated candidate,” he added.
Citing further historical precedent within the NPP, Abronye noted that former President John Kufuor secured 36% in the 1996 presidential election but went on to win in 2000.
“We never said that his loss was so bad that we should change the candidate,” Abronye stated.
He also took issue with the group’s claims that Bawumia garnered only 38% of the vote rather than the 41% reported by the Electoral Commission (EC).
He argued that such assertions undermine the EC and its chairperson, Jean Mensa, rather than Bawumia himself.
“Those who are making claims that Bawumia got 38% are indicting the Electoral Commission, saying Madam Jean Mensa’s figures were wrong,” he stated.
He cautioned against internal attacks, warning that they jeopardize party unity. According to him, condemning and attacking internal opponents and then calling for unity talks after a primary is a challenging venture.
Abronye urged NPP executives at all levels to take note of these claims and allow the party committee investigating the loss to do its work rather than fueling division.
