- Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has stated that he was ready to quit politics if his religion or ethnicity caused the NPP’s 2024 defeat
- He revealed this during a conversation with President Akufo-Addo after the Mike Ocquaye committee was formed
- Bawumia said the committee’s findings showed neither religion nor tribe influenced the loss to John Mahama
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the former Vice President of Ghana and 2024 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has opened up about a promise he made to the party after losing the election.
Speaking to some party delegates during his campaign tour of the Ashanti Region ahead of the NPP’s flagbearer race, Dr Bawumia shared a conversation he had with former President Akufo-Addo, in which he vowed never to run for office again if his religion and tribe were proven to be the reason behind the party’s defeat.
Photo credit: Dr Mahamudu Bawumia/Facebook.
Source: Facebook
“When the Mike Ocquaye committee was set up, I told Nana Akufo-Addo during a meeting to discuss reasons for our defeat, that if the committee’s report says that the NPP lost the election because Dr Bawumia is a Muslim or it was because of the Mamprusi-Kusasi conflict, I would step down and not run for office again. That’s what I told my father, Nana Akufo-Addo,” he said.
“I said because I didn’t want my personal interest to be ahead of the party. The party’s interest must always be ahead of me. So, I told him that because of the party, I would sacrifice my ambition if my candidacy would result in another electoral defeat,” he added.
He said all the research carried out into the defeat of the NPP concluded that religion and tribe were not factors in the 2024 elections.
The former Vice President consequently rejected claims that his Muslim faith and tribe contributed to the NPP’s humiliating defeat in the 2024 elections to President John Mahama of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He further urged his critics to stop claiming that his tribe and religion played a role in their electoral defeat.
The Prof Mike Ocquaye report
Following the NPP defeat in the election, the hierarchy of the party formed a committee, led by Professor Mike Ocquaye, a former Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament, and Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, a former Majority Leader, to investigate the cause of the loss.
The report was presented internally to the party’s national council in April 2025.
Although the report has not yet been made public, the leaked excerpts suggest economic factors and voter apathy were the causes of the party’s defeat.
The leaked excerpts of the Prof Mike Ocquaye report also stated that Dr Bawumia’s religion or ethnicity did not play any role in the party’s loss.
Watch the video below:
Reactions to Bawumia’s claims
Dr Bawumia’s claims about his conversation with Akufo-Addo have sparked mixed reactions on social media.
YEN.com.gh compiled a few of the reactions below:
@sahabela said:
“There’s a reason Dr. Bawumia continue to be the best person for the NPP going into the 2028 election.”
@kasa_anoma also said
“Whether it was attributed to you or not, it’s you that we are sending come 2028.”
@WilliamGOKU2 commented:
“Ghanians were told Ocquaye findings, reports, not be made public even as some NPP MPs plead otherwise. Becoming vice-president on the shoulder of Akuffo Addo and doesn’t make Bawumia ELECTABLE above others, some who have been TESTED as MPs. Akuffo Addo was TESTED and elected MP.”
Photo credit: Dr Mahamudu Bawumia/Facebook.
Source: Facebook
Dr Bawumia outline vision for Ghana
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, outlined a bold economic plan to transform Ghana.
Speaking during a campaign tour in the Ashanti Region, Bawumia said every regional capital will become a duty-free zone.
The former Vice President was in the Ashanti Region campaigning to become the NPP’s flagbearer for the 2028 elections.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
Source: Yen.com.gh
