Member of parliament for Buem, Kofi Adams, has revealed that the 2024 general elections will be one of record comparisons between flagbearer for the NPP, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and NDC’s flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama.
He revealed that for him and a lot of persons within the NDC, the election of Dr Bawumia as NPP’s flagbearer is a “welcoming news”.
According to him, Dr Bawumia’s candidature will offer an election that will have recourse to compare what both parties and their leaders have done.
Mr Adams revealed that Ghanaians will be privy to the record of the NDC candidate and also will have the record of the NPP candidate, and nobody will attempt to run away from it.
“When you listen to Kennedy Agyapong’s strong campaign, he made it very clear that the people who mess up the economy than it was when they took over, cannot break the eight… So, admittedly, they themselves know that records comparison will be a key thing in 2024 elections. Look at the votes that Kennedy got, he got about 37% and when you add the others, you’ll get 39%.
“So, 39% of NPP executives indicated clearly that the Vice President who ultimately got elected per their constitution is not the best material for them and for the country. So, for us, we are happy that it is him because it makes it easier to compare and makes it easier for people to make their choices.”
Kofi Adams
Mr Adams indicated that from 2007 when Akufo-Addo picked Dr Bawumia as a running mate, he has been at the forefront for over fifteen years. To this end, he noted that the level of exposure Dr Bawumia has had, coupled with the opportunities that have come his way, is not the same as all other previous first-time contestants.
“All other previous first-time contestants, the closest is Alhaji Aliu Mahama, who was running mate and Vice President, and he would have had it for seven years… So, people are forgetting all this many years of exposure as flagbearer and Vice President and that counts a lot…”
Kofi Adams
Popularity of Bawumia on the NPP front
Furthermore, Mr Adams reckoned that the kind of exposure Dr Bawumia has had in the political space had worked for him. Nonetheless, he explained that it has also exposed him as a “weak” person.
“His exposure [brought] familiarity. There are people who will vote for him because he’s been there and the heir apparent for the long period, coupled with the system backing him and wanting him to emerge. So, everything was done.”
Kofi Adams
Justifying his stance, the Buem legislator recounted that during the first round of the superdelegates conference which had some ten candidates, nine had cause to complain about the influence of the system in favor of one person. This, he expressed, informed the party’s decision at the NEC to have the primaries organized at the regional levels instead of bringing all of them together.
“Subsequently, we saw what happened. It led to resignation of persons like Alan Kojo Kyerematen from the party, now he is forming his own movement for change – others equally complained. When it came down to the four, the three from the four all of them kept complaining… Clearly, everybody realizes that the system was working for him, so that worked to his advantage. At the same time also, majority of the people knew that Bawumia was empty.”
Kofi Adams
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