During his talks with New Patriotic Party (NPP) stakeholders in various Regions, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia received a resounding backing for his ambition to be the party’s flag bearer.
Dr. Bawumia has started consultations with important party members and outside parties over the past few weeks to let them know of his intentions and then to ask for their support before he formally announces his candidacy for the vacant NPP Flagbearership for the 2024 election.
Before meeting with important party blocks, including the crucial Majority Caucus, to formally advise them of his decision, sources claim he first contacted President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Former President J.A. Kufuor, and other stalwarts of the NPP.
The Vice President is claimed to have informed and sought the permission of numerous traditional and religious officials around the country in order to show respect for these institutions, a critical step that his rivals skipped over.
By engaging with important stakeholders from throughout the Regions over the past two weeks, Dr. Bawumia has moved his focus to honoring the NPP’s regional structure, and the responses have been overwhelmingly positive.
He recently traveled to the Western North, Western, Central, Volta, and Oti Regions where he encountered ecstatic party members who were unreserved in their support for him.
Dr. Bawumia visited the three Bono and Ahafo Regions, the Ashanti and Northern Regions, as well as other places this week.
The Vice President has received a ton of support in each of the regions he has traveled to.
A former campaign manager for Alan Kyerematen, a candidate for the position of flagbearer, shocked the ebullient Regional party stakeholders in Volta Region when he announced his support for Dr. Bawumia.
Kofi Dzamesi, a former close associate of Alan Kyerematen, stated that “Dr. Bawumia is the only one who can break the 8 for the NPP and I support him.”
Numerous people charged outside in the Bono Region when Dr. Bawumia was locked in a meeting with the party stakeholders, yelling his name and demanding he address them.
The Vice President complied, but he stopped short of openly announcing his ambition to be the flagbearer.
Instead, he praised the tense audience, urged party cohesion, and reassured them that the administration would continue to function.
In the Ashanti Region, which is the NPP’s heartland, nothing changed.
Major players in the Region, including constituency executives, publicly screamed Bawumia’s name and vowed their unwavering support for him while praising his dedication and fidelity to the party.
Anthony Amankwaa, the constituency chairman for Oforikrom, summarized the feelings of his fellow Ashanti Regional constituency chairmen when he noted that they had long recognized Dr. Bawumia’s major contributions to the party and government and had been working hard for him.
“Dr., the campaign (to elect you) didn’t begin today. Together with our Chairman, Wontumi, we started the initiative a long time ago. Since we are already working, there is even no need for us to speak today. May God bless you,” Chairman Amankwaa said to thunderous applause from his colleagues. “We will see you through, and we trust you will go and break the 8 for us.
Collins Addai of Atwima Mponua, a different chairman, praised Dr. Bawumia for his enormous contributions to the NPP’s electoral success, highlighting in particular the areas where the NPP had historically struggled until the rise of Dr. Bawumia.
As he continued with his important stakeholder engagements in the Upper West, Savannah, and Northern Regions, the pattern of widespread stakeholder endorsement, favorable testimonies, and enthusiastic grassroots support for Dr. Bawumia persisted in the North.
Only time will tell what lies ahead as the NPP opens nominations for the presidential race the following week and Vice President Bawumia prepares to make a formal public declaration to start what promises to be a historic journey.
However, the early signs indicate that he will lead the NPP into the upcoming elections as the front-runner and the supporter.