Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Majority Leader, has publicly endorsed Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s choice of Matthew Opoku Prempeh as his running mate, stating that the majority caucus fully supports this decision.
Afenyo-Markin indicated that the national council’s approval is forthcoming, and disclosed that their inquiries about President Akufo-Addo’s position on Dr. Bawumia’s choice of running mate have received favorable responses, implying that all necessary party channels have been properly consulted and are in unity on the matter.
“Yes, the leader of our party and flagbearer met with the leadership of Parliament and had an extensive engagement with us, regarding the way forward for the party going into the 2024 elections. And then, the conclusion was that Dr. Mathew Opoku-Prempeh was his choice for running mate. And that is normally the practice, and out of respect, the caucus would have to be informed and engaged about the decision”.
“The generality of the caucus members is in support of his choice. What it is, is that for it to become official or confirmed, there’s going to be a national council meeting”.
Alexander Afenyo-Markin
Afenyo-Markin further observed that a broad consensus is emerging in support of Matthew Opoku Prempeh’s selection, indicating that his appointment is likely to be widely accepted and uneventful.
As such, Afenyo-Markin called on the majority caucus to throw their weight behind Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Energy, and support his candidacy as Dr. Bawumia’s running mate.
Afenyo-Markin also admonished his fellow NPP lawmakers to exercise restraint and tact in their public utterances, warning that careless comments could inadvertently jeopardize their party’s prospects of winning the 2024 general elections.
“I would want to strongly make this case that we’re in this together… None is perfect in this whole game, we may have our differences. And once a decision is made, it is made, we must all rally behind him, and make sure that we do the right thing”.
Alexander Afenyo-Markin
Bawumia Fails To Meet Economic Expectations
Meanwhile, former Ambassador to India, Sam Pee Yalley, expressed his disappointment in Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, stating that he has failed to meet the high economic expectations that Ghanaians had of him, despite being hailed as a top economist.
Ambassador Yalley cast doubt on the ability of the NPP’s economic management team, observing that its own members are disassociating themselves from it, and wryly noted that the supposed ‘men’ the party claimed to have are now running away from their own economic mess.
“NPP used to pride themselves with ‘we have the men’ but history has proven that concept is not true. Bawumia has never sat in any classroom reading fiscal and monetary economics.”
Sam Pee Yalley
Ambassador Yalley elaborated that economics encompasses diverse fields, including development, agricultural, micro, and fiscal economics, and criticized Dr. Bawumia for failing to reconcile his past pronouncements on the economy with his current actions, essentially dodging accountability for his previous statements.
He pointed out that Dr. Bawumia’s expertise lies in development economics, but his role in government has been misconstrued by the public, who assumed he was a specialist in fiscal and monetary economics, leading to unrealistic expectations and a sense of disappointment in his handling of the economy.
Yalley implied that if Dr. Bawumia had been candid about his specialization in development economics from the outset, the public’s expectations would have been more realistic, and the subsequent disappointment and criticism he faces might have been mitigated.
Referring to Dr. Bawumia’s doctoral thesis on Ghana’s structural adjustment policy, Ambassador Yalley stressed that it focused on the impact of economic policy, rather than fiscal and monetary policy, further proving that Dr. Bawumia is not the economist needed to solve the country’s economic challenges.
As such, Yalley called on Ghanaians to reevaluate and question whether Dr. Bawumia’s skills and expertise truly align with the demands of his role, implying that he may not be the most suitable candidate for the position.
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