Former Vice President and 2024 Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has refuted allegations that his Muslim identity or ethnic background, contributed to the party’s electoral loss, dismissing such claims as mere propaganda disconnected from factual analyses.
Addressing NPP delegates as part of his flagbearership campaign, Dr Bawumia, said the allegations were not only unfounded but contradicted both party dynamics and the findings of post-election fact-finding reports.
He recalled a meeting he held with former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and senior party members before the release of the Prof. Mike Oquaye Committee report, during which he indicated his willingness to step aside if it was proven that his religion or links to the Mamprusi-Kussasi conflict had cost the party the 2024 election.
According to him, his personal ambition should never come before the survival of the party, and for the sake of unity, he would have abandoned any flagbearership bid if it meant safeguarding the party’s prospects in 2028.
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“I told Nana Akufo-Addo that if my being a Muslim or the Mamprusi-Kussasi conflict was the reason for our defeat, I would not pursue the flagbearership. My ambition must never be bigger than the party’s survival,” he stated.
Dr Bawumia noted, however, that the conclusions of the Prof. Mike Oquaye Committee, as well as reports from the Ashanti Region and others’ post-election reviews, clearly established that religion and ethnicity played no role in the NPP’s defeat.
He added that his loyalty to the party would always come first. “For the sake of the NPP, I said I would be willing to sacrifice my personal aspirations if it meant protecting the party from another defeat in 2028,” Dr Bawumia told the delegates.
“The evidence is clear our defeat had nothing to do with tribe, religion, or ethnicity. That narrative is false,” Dr Bawumia emphasized.
The Prof Mike Oquaye Committee, identified governance failures, economic challenges, and internal party weaknesses as the fundamental factors that led to the defeat of the NPP.
The Ashanti fact-finding report, led by Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, had also blamed poor leadership style, unpopular candidate selection processes, and grassroots alienation.
Independent reviews and stakeholder consultations conducted by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Ghana further highlighted voter dissatisfaction with the Akufo-Addo government’s performance and structural issues within the party.
While Dr Bawumia, has firmly rejected the narrative that his faith or ethnic background cost the NPP victory, he has remained silent on what he personally believes were the actual causes of the 2024 electoral loss.
This silence continues to stir debate within the party as members look ahead to the 2028 elections and demand clarity on the path forward.
On Wednesday, 15 of the 23 NPP MPs in the Eastern Region threw their weight behind Dr Bawumia’s candidature, pointing out that he was the most marketed and prepared candidate for the NPP flagbearer job.
The NPP’s 2024 presidential candidate, has meanwhile reiterated his commitment to addressing the welfare needs of party delegates as well as ordinary party members, should he be elected flagbearer and eventually President in the 2028 elections.
Dr Bawumia, who first made this pledge in 2023, while aspiring to be the NPP flagbearer, said the policy would be designed to fully operate whether the party is in or out of power when rolled out and would be targeted to meet the specific welfare needs of party members.
Emphasizing that an army marches on its stomach and the party cannot hope to recapture power if it fails to meet the welfare needs of its grassroots and structures, Dr Bawumia said various research had shown seeming neglect as a significant factor in why many refused to vote in 2024. He planned to address this by rolling out a broad, sustainable plan for party welfare.
“We will roll out major, targeted welfare policies that directly address our welfare needs. I have ideas for a broad, effective, sustainable welfare programme for the NPP, and it will be one of my major initiatives when you give me your mandate to lead this party.
“One of the first steps would be to establish a Welfare Desk at every level of the Party to collate data on who needs what, to ensure equitable distribution of opportunities. No ‘adidigya’ or ‘menyaa hwee’.
“Among many things, we will also institute measures that ensure resources go directly to the grassroots to facilitate Party work”, he pledged during various engagements with current and former Constituency Executives and former government officials in the Eastern Region.
Dr Bawumia’s message of building an inclusive, formidable party ahead of the party’s flagbearer contest on January 31, 2026, has seen him meet with various stakeholders in the NPP, with remarkable results nationwide.
