Bawumia condemns tribal and religious campaigns in NPP flagbearer race

Former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has strongly condemned attempts by some individuals within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to introduce tribal and religious sentiments into the party’s internal contest for the 2028 presidential ticket, describing such tactics as "dangerous" and "divisive."

Addressing the NPP Constituency Chairmen Caucus in Kumasi over the weekend, Dr Bawumia urged party members to resist efforts to undermine the party’s unity by appealing to religion and ethnicity in pursuit of political advantage. His comments come amid growing concern over the tone of internal campaigns following the NPP’s loss in the 2024 general election.

"We are a united party encompassing people from all ethnic groups, all religions, and we are all part of the elephant family. It is therefore very important that we do not allow people, for the sake of political advantage, to bring us apart as a party," Dr Bawumia said. 

"I'm saying this because recently people are going religious and tribal. That’s dangerous for the New Patriotic Party. Very dangerous for us if you go in that direction."

His remarks follow the circulation of a video showing Nhyiaeso MP Dr Steven Amoah, a known campaigner for flagbearer hopeful Kennedy Agyapong, telling a group of TESCON members in Kumasi that Christians are not ready for a Muslim president. Though Dr Amoah did not directly mention names, Dr Bawumia, who is Muslim was a flagbearer of the party in the December 2024 elections.

Dr Bawumia dismissed such arguments as baseless, drawing on the findings of the Prof Mike Oquaye-led committee that investigated the party’s 2024 defeat. 

"What is clear, and it is stated in black and white in the Oquaye report, as well as all the other surveys, is that religion and tribe were not factors in the 2024 election. So we should not try to create and say that Christians would not vote for Bawumia. My 4.7 million votes—were they all Muslims who voted for me? It is not possible. All voted for me."

He further challenged the logic of such claims by referencing past presidential candidates who lost elections before eventually securing victory. "When Kufuor lost, did we say religion? When Mills lost, did we say religion? When Nana Akufo-Addo lost, did we say religion? That is not a factor, but people want to make it a factor for political reasons."

Dr Bawumia emphasised that if he genuinely believed religion was a barrier to his candidacy, he would have stepped aside. "If that was the case, I wouldn’t have contested at all. I would have stepped aside if that is the case, because I’m not a selfish person. I value the party. I would not jeopardise the ability of the party to win the 2028 election."

He warned that using religion and ethnicity to gain political traction could erode the very foundation of the NPP. "People are trying to do that for their own political advantage and it is really dangerous for our party."