A former flagbearer aspirant of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ing. Kwabena Agyei Adjapong, has stated that the party’s newly elected leader and Presidential Candidate for election 2024, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has been presented with a great opportunity to chart a new course for the party.
Mr Agyapong, who contested in the presidential primary but lost out in the super delegates’ conference, has welcomed the choice of the delegates, and rallied support for him.
Although some have sought to belittle Dr Bawumia’s victory on the basis of the numbers, Mr Agyapong believes that for a first-timer, Dr Bawumia performed creditably by winning with 61.4%.
In response to a question on Upfront on JoyNews about whether the best man or the most resourceful won the race, Ing. Agyapong said, “I don’t want to second-guess the decision of the majority. At the end of the day, he won close to 70% in the super delegates’ and did over 61% with the generality close to 200,000. So, we have to give him credit. That’s a first-timer getting those figures. If you go back into our political history, not Adu Boahen, not Kufuor, not Akufo-Addo got that at the first time of asking, so I think we have to give credit to Dr Bawumia”he stated.
“I would like to say that he’s used the vice presidential platform that was provided to him to good effect.”
According to him, although there were a few times people like him were a bit apprehensive about the processes leading to the super delegates’ conference, he believes the final election was free, fair and transparent as had been confirmed by other contestants at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Asked whether Dr Bawumia stood a bright chance going into election 2024 particularly on the basis of the economic challenges the country is grappling with, Ing. Agyapong told the host, Raymond Acquah, that “All across the world, governments have suffered because of the economic crunch and Ghana is not an exception. And we all recognize that it’s been a difficult seven years, more so in the last 2 to 3 years because of all the externalities that have happened.
“But I think he’s got a fantastic opportunity to chart a new course, and I am happy he gave a signal the last time because I believe that it cannot be business as usual. We cannot continue to do the same things and expect different results. The fact of the matter is, if you look at your economy, you’ve got to spend what you earn. You shouldn’t live beyond your means; that’s simple and straightforward. As an engineer, I always like to predict outcomes; you want to model the things that are likely to happen. I do believe that it’s easier to control your expenditure than to push your revenue” he noted.
According to him, the NPP and its leader would have to “go to the Ghanaian people with a new narrative” rather than focusing more on the past.
“It’s not so much residing in the past. We can learn lessons from what has happened in the past, but what is important is the kind of vision and the leadership that we want to present to the Ghanaian people. I believe he can earn their respect, he’s a likeable personality, and I have never seen him angry before. He’s very humble and people like him.
Of course he’s going to carry the difficulties of the stark reality that we are in. But I do believe that this provides us an opportunity. Our party, NPP is a very strong machinery and I do believe in my heart in all humility, that we have the numbers than the NDC.”
He said the flagbearer and the national executives of the party would have to ensure that the party’s parliamentary primaries is done in such a way that the party’s base would be energized to position them for victory.
On the matter of who partners Dr Bawumia as his running mate, the former NPP General Secretary said that decision solely rests with the Vice President, and so he must be allowed the space to decide.
