A group of New Patriotic Party (NPP) executives, including grassroots members and non-party individuals who are fervent supporters of Dr. Mahammudu Bawumia, the party’s Flagbearer, has urged everyone to respect his autonomy in choosing his running mate without undue pressure.
Known as the Patriotic Movement for Bawumia, the group has appealed to Dr. Bawumia to resist external pressures from various factions within the party, which have been lobbying for their preferred candidates to be selected as his running mate.
The group has criticised certain activities and tactics employed by some factions within the party, including press conferences, persistent delegations to Dr. Bawumia, petitions, and threatening remarks in the media, all aimed at coercing Dr. Bawumia into selecting their favoured candidate as his running mate.
According to the Patriotic Movement for Bawumia, such actions suggest a lack of confidence in Dr. Bawumia’s ability to make independent decisions regarding his running mate, undermining his leadership and autonomy.
The leadership of the Patriotic Movement for Bawumia has advised Dr. Bawumia to uphold his reputation as a leader with a clear vision and to demonstrate the courage to select a running mate whom he believes is best suited to join him in contesting the 2024 presidential race.
They contend that evidence abounds through experiences from Ghana’s political history that since the inception of the fourth republic, any presidential candidate who succumbs to pressures from parochial party groups and members has always plunged their parties into serious electoral doom.
”We are humbly advising our flag-bearer, His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia not to allow any individual or groups, to compel him or lure him into choosing a running mate against his actual or real choice. Allowing yourself to be manipulated in this manner has dire consequences on the party’s victory in this year’s presidential election”.
According to the group, the party risks suffering from serious disunity and long-standing cracks in her rank and file should the flag-bearer, for any reason, permit the pressure being mounted on him by the people in the party as well as their hired political analysts and campaigners, to coerce him to select a running mate from their camps, just to satisfy their selfish interests at the expense of the NPP’s victory in the 2024 presidential election.
The group during a news conference in Kumasi added that “It is sad to note that the NPP members who must have been vigorously campaigning for our flag-bearer, are at this crucial moment, busily exerting all their energies on adopting various diabolic strategies to force a running mate on Dr. Bawumia. This is absurd and must be condemned by all persons who mean well for the party.”
The statement further posed the question, ”Now, the problem we have at hand is, if our flag-bearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia chooses any of the people being forced on him by groups and individuals, through press conferences with threats, deliberate media interviews, campaigning flyers, delegations to him, etc, how would the other factions and neutral members of the party feel, react and respond to the announcement of such a choice?”
The group which has a membership including top NPP constituency, and regional and national executives, has also cautioned people who have interests in becoming the running mate to Dr. Bawumia, to refrain from sponsoring groups and individuals or employing tactics that are alien to the NPP’s modus operandi, just to forcefully cause the flag-bearer to consider any of them as the running mate for this year’s election.
”Some of the people whose names have popped up as being interested in being Dr. Bawumia’s running mate have been accused of sponsoring people to hold press conferences and sign petitions to forcefully cause our flag-bearer, Dr. Bawumia make them his running mate. This childish modus, and odd way of operating in the NPP, if true, must be condemned in no uncertain terms. Selecting a running mate is the prerogative of the flag-bearer, and under no circumstance must he or she be made to choose a running mate under duress. Furthermore, this weak means of getting a person to become a running mate, has never been the NPP’s style; it is too disgracing and must cease forthwith”, the group cautioned.
They further advised that characters who are hell-bent on forcing a candidate on Dr Bawumia should not make the situation in his time appear different from those of his predecessors.
They further posited that NPP flag-bearers have always had the liberty and power to choose their preferred running mates and that the status quo must not be changed during Dr Bawumia’s era since he is the leader of the party, he must be allowed to lead.
In a scathing criticism, the group, respectfully, declared that they were not pleased with the recent ‘sponsored declaration’ for a particular person who is known to have declared serious interest in being the running mate to Dr. Bawumia.
The group has therefore appealed to the NPP’s flagbearer to disregard any such endorsements that might have come now, in the past, or in the future.
“Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia ‘is his own man’, let us allow him to select someone he has tested and finds capable of helping him lead the NPP to break the eight and consequently directing the next NPP government to continue to bring the needed development for our beloved country, Ghana”, the group added.
