Bawumia was forced to choose Napo as running mate – Nyaho-Tamakloe
A senior member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has revealed that the party’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, wasn’t given the freedom to choose his preferred running mate for the 2024 presidential election.
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe had previously predicted that certain elements within the NPP would not allow the party’s flagbearer to proceed with his choice.
“I predicted that he would not be given the free hand by some people in the party because of their own interest. I know for a fact that he can’t pick his own running mate, and I mentioned this seven months ago. He will definitely have to pick his running mate from the Ashanti Region,” Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe stated.
His comments follow reports that the NPP flagbearer, Dr Bawumia, had named Energy Minister Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh his running mate.
Despite Dr Bawumia requesting more time to consult on his choice of running mate, there had been strong calls for the candidate to be from the Ashanti region, given its significance as an NPP stronghold.
On Wednesday, June 26, sources revealed that Dr Bawumia had presented Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Energy Minister and Manhyia South lawmaker, to the President as his running mate.
Responding to this development, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, in an interview on Thursday, June 27, questioned why all past presidential candidates under the Fourth Republic picked their own running mates, but Bawumia can’t do the same.
“Bawumia’s position is that he will find it difficult to pick his own running mate. Rawlings picked his own running mate, nobody would dare bring anyone to him and say ‘this one should go with you’. He fielded Ackaah and he failed, he changed him to another person. Kufuor picked his own running mate.”
“First round, second round, I was present. Not that someone was telling me. Atta Mills picked his own running mate, Mahama picked his own running mate. Akufo-Addo, scene one, picked his own running mate, scene two, picked his own running mate. Why can’t Bawumia pick his own running mate?”, he quizzed in an interview with 3FM on June 27.
Meanwhile, the Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has warned his NPP colleagues and party sympathizers against internal wranglings ahead of the party’s running mate announcement.
He said, “As the 2024 elections approach and the decision of a running mate to NPP’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, remains under review, the party will benefit more from maintaining unity than infighting about the choice yet to be made.”
Mr Afenyo-Markin encouraged the NPP MPs to be mindful of their comments and how they express themselves in public while addressing the running mate selection.
“Yes, we’ve all heard matters regarding running mate to complement our ticket, but no decision has been made yet, and the party structures are there.
“So I would want to encourage colleague MPs that we are in this together. There is no perfect person in this world.”
“None of us can tick every box, so let’s be careful how we describe each other, how we say things about our colleagues, how we approach things and the language we use. It may not be helpful. So that is all my advice. Be measured in the language we use,” he said in a press conference on June 27.