The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mr. Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, has said it will be risky for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to deny Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia the flagbearer position for the 2024 presidential election.
According to him, the current dynamics in the NPP and the present political climate point to the need for a northerner to take on the mantle of flagbearership for the party.
He, therefore, indicated that Dr. Bawumia is the best person to lead the elephant family for the next presidential election.
“Eight years as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana and eight years as Vice-President, ‘Kwame Afriyie Bawumia’ is the man to lead the NPP,” he stressed.
Speaking on Accra-based _Neat_ _FM_ with Frimpong Manso Adakabre concerning the upcoming flagbearership race of the NPP, Mr. Ampratwum-Sarpong admitted he recognises Alan Kojo Kyeremanten as a formidable leader who can also lead the party to victory but argued that the current dynamics and political climate do not favour him.
He, however, stated that if the two men could agree to contest under a single banner, breaking the eight would be a walk in the park for the NPP.
“Bawumia will bring in the minority votes and Alan Kyerematen will bring the Ashanti and Akyem base. So the combination of these two will make the NPP more formidable,” he added.
The Deputy Minister indicated that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) would hype the propaganda it has always launched against the NPP that the party is anti-northerners once Dr. Bawumia is denied the flagbearer position.
Dr Bawumia with his wife Samira receiving blessings in one of his numerous visit to a church
He said the NDC would jump on such a decision and go round the country telling minority groups that the NPP is a party that does not want anybody to be flagbearer aside from the Ashanti and Akyem groups.
“That has always been the NDC campaign but the present dynamics offer the NPP the perfect opportunity to prove to the whole country that that is far from the truth,” he pointed out.
Mr. Ampratwum-Sarpong said the claim that Ghana would have difficulties with western countries or the Christian community when Dr. Bawumia, a Muslim, becomes NPP flagbearer is such a lame argument, citing President Buhari of Nigeria as a classic example.
He noted that leadership is all that matters in such affairs, especially in the situation at stake where every person knows the weaknesses and strengths of the two personalities.
He indicated that such matters simply need to be discussed and a candidate that gives a certain assurance to the Western World, Eastern World and the Middle East must be chosen, adding that Vice-President Dr. Bawumia fits into those criteria.
He said, “Dr. Bawumia has demonstrated that he is not an ultra Islamist. He is a mainstream Islamist, a very progressive and liberal Muslim and these are the Muslims you don’t have any difficulties with. He says it as it is.”
He wondered why in Ghana’s 4th democratic dispensation there have been no proposals for a Muslim flagbearer. He, therefore, urged the NPP not to be disoriented by the NDC and ignore such a perfect opportunity. “We are not choosing Bawumia simply because he is a Muslim but due to the current dispensation and the dynamics on the ground. He is the Vice-President and has demonstrated beyond reasonable doubts that he is efficient, competent and a deliverer and has also provided leadership,” he stressed.
“So given the opportunity, he will lead the NPP from the front and will give the country the right direction. Look at what he has delivered so far leading the country’s digitalisation agenda in just five years in office. Dr. Bawumia has the strength and the heart to lead the NPP. He just needs the support of the party,” he said.
The Deputy Minister was optimistic that the national executives that would emerge after the NPP internal election would rally behind Dr. Bawumia and help him to provide the leadership that the party needs.
“And once he is selected, a cream of party leaders will emerge and give him all the necessary support that will also prevent a one-man show,” he added.
Source: MyPublisher24.com