The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has dismissed suggestions that it was under pressure to elect Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as its first non-Akan flagbearer ahead of the 2024 election.

According to the party, the perception that the NPP is an Akan-dominated party played no role in Dr Bawumia’s election.

National Organizer of the NPP, Henry Nana Boakye, in an interview with Citi News, said delegates of the party saw the Vice President as the NPP’s best bet in the 2024 election.

“First of all, we need to understand that his persona, his ability to woo people to himself also worked,” Nana Boakye said, adding, “Over the years, he has also sacrificed a lot. He had to put aside his profession and join and be a running mate for almost 12 years before becoming the Vice President.

“The fact that he is non-Akan, he is Muslim from the northern part of Ghana is historical, but this isn’t the first time we have had a northerner contesting.”

Meanwhile, the campaign team of Dr Bawumia says a detailed plan is being worked out for the Vice President to tour the country to sell his message to Ghanaians.

Dr. Bawumia on Saturday, November 4, 2023, defeated Kennedy Agyapong, the outspoken Assin Central MP; Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, a former Minister for Agriculture; and former Mampong MP, Francis Addai-Nimoh, to become the NPP’s flagbearer for the 2024 elections.

Dr. Bawumia polled 118,210 votes representing 61.47%, while his closest contender, Mr. Agyapong, polled 71,996 votes representing 37.41%. Dr. Afriyie Akoto, who placed a distant third, polled 1,459 votes representing 0.76%, while Addai-Nimoh garnered a meager 731 representing 0.41%.

A total of 192,446 delegates voted in Saturday’s presidential primary.

Citinewsroom