Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 general election, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has urged members of the main opposition party to avoid tribal and religious bigots ahead of the party’s presidential primaries next year.
He strongly condemned what he described as tribal and religious propaganda being deployed by some of his opponents in the NPP flagbearership contest to be held on 31st January, 2026.
Accordingly, Dr Bawumia has thrown the gauntlet to his opponents in the party’s upcoming flagbearership race, asking them to compete on the basis of vision, policies and proven achievements rather than divisive rhetoric.
Tribal politics
In making a case for NPP delegates to elect him as the party’s 2028 flagbearer, a presidential aspirants, Dr Bryan Acheampong urged delegates to reject former Vice President Bawumia.
According to him, Dr Bawumia is Mamprusi, and Kusasis will not vote for the NPP due to the age-long conflict between the two tribes.
The Abetifi MP cited the conflict as a factor which contributed to the NPP’s loss in the presidential and parliamentary seats in the area.
“Because the conflict is between these two people and we brought one of them as our candidate, it made us lose seats in the 2024 election. We cannot wait for this situation to be resolved and stay in opposition because the suspicion will not go away,” Dr Bryan Acheampong told some NPP delegates.
However, addressing the NPP New York 33rd Anniversary celebration on Sunday, August 24, Dr Bawumia warned that such divisive tactics were dangerous and risked branding the party as exclusionary.
He dismissed claims by the religious and tribal bigots that the NPP lost the 2024 elections because of his northern and Muslim background, describing such suggestions as both false and desperate.
“The people playing the religion and tribal card clearly do not have a message. That propaganda is not only false but also dangerous for the NPP.
“If you want to contest me, come with a vision, come with your ideas, come with your track record, come with your integrity and let us decide,” Dr Bawumia told the tribal and religious bigots.
Reasons for NPP’s defeat
To buttress his point, Dr Bawumia cited the Professor Mike Oquaye report, which investigated the party’s 2024 defeat.
The study, he explained, showed that religion and tribe were not factors in voter behaviour.
Instead, nearly 80% of respondents attributed their voting decisions to disappointment with the government.
He added that his own presidential votes in 2024 surpassed those of several Christian parliamentary candidates in the party’s strongholds, disproving the claims of bias.
Dr Bawumia also rejected suggestions that the long-standing Mamprusi-Kusasi conflict in Bawku played a decisive role in the NPP’s defeat.
He presented election data dating back to 1965 showing that the NPP tradition has historically struggled to win the six seats in the Bawku zone, regardless of its presidential candidate.
“The Bawku conflict was not a factor in the outcome of the 2024 election. The data is clear,” he asserted.
Indeed, the data showed that in terms of parliamentary seats, the NPP tradition got zero in 1965, 2 seats in 1969, zero in 1979, boycotted 1992 parliamentary election, zero in 1996, one seat in 2000, zero in 2004.
The rest are two seats in 2008 after which NPP lost one when Adamu Dramani Sakande was jailed in court, zero in 2012, two seats in 2016, one seat in 2020 and zero in 2024.
Dr Bawumia urged his competitors within the NPP to focus on policies, ideas and proven leadership records rather than attempting to sow disunity.
Bawumia’s contribution to NPP
Former Vice President Bawumia reminded the party that the NPP had never defined him by his identity when he defended the party in court, campaigned across the country, or spearheaded initiatives that helped deliver electoral victories in 2016 and 2020.
“When I was campaigning the length and breadth of Ghana, nobody said I was a northerner, a Mamprusi or a Muslim. So what has changed now?” he asked.
Calling for maturity, Dr. Bawumia urged party members to put aside bitterness and rally around a common purpose.
“This propaganda risks pigeonholing the NPP as a tribal and sectional party. That is not who we are. We are the party of unity, the party that embraces all. Let us not repeat the divisions that cost us in 1979. If we heal and stand together, we will be unstoppable in 2028,” Dr Bawumia stated.
‘Unity needed to win 2028 elections’
Dr Bawumia has expressed strong optimism that the NPP can return to power in 2028 if it rebuilds internal unity and works with discipline and focus.
He assured party faithful that victory is within reach if they overcome divisions.
“I have absolute confidence that if we work hard and stay united, we will win 2028. But we need to put our house in order and position the party as the best credible alternative,” he said.
Dr Bawumia noted that the task ahead requires discipline in leadership selection, issue-based campaigning, and a renewed commitment to Ghana’s development.
He revealed that the 2024 election results showed the NPP lost over 2 million votes compared to 2020, mainly due to apathy in its strongholds in Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern, Central and Western Regions.
Dr Bawumia stressed that if these regions had turned out in their numbers, the NPP would have retained power. The challenge now, he said, is to energise the base and inspire renewed confidence.
He outlined the attributes needed in the next NPP leader is the vision, humility, incorruptibility, steadiness, emotional intelligence, experience, and the ability to unite the party.
Dr Bawumia called on all party members to put aside self-interest and place the NPP’s collective mission first.
“If we are fractured, none of us can cross over to lead this party to fulfil its purpose. Unity is the only way forward. With unity and consistency, we can regain the trust of Ghanaians and reclaim power in 2028,” he declared to resounding applause.
