The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is set to officially launch his bid for the highest office of the land with a public lecture dubbed, “Ghana’s Next Chapter: Selfless Leadership and Bold Solutions for the Future” at the Kofi Ohene Konadu Auditorium, University of Professional Studies Accra on Wednesday, 7th February, 2024.
The lecture is believed to proffer the policy directions of the next New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration under Dr. Bawumia and highlights some interim measures being led by the Vice President to address some of the issues confronting the country presently. It will also emphasize on the next step in Ghana’s digitalization drive, debt management structure and ultimately rally the goodwill of all Ghanaians for his candidature as President of the Republic.
The Vice President is also expected to address issues of party unity, following the recent NPP primaries that saw many colossuses disgruntled with the electoral process, and passionately appeal for their support in his bid to ‘break the 8’.
He was emphatic on the need for party unity in his recent goodwill message to the vanquished in the NPP primaries when he said, ‘Let’s join together and work in unison for victory in December 2024. To be successful, we must dig deep and renew our spirits of patriotism. Let’s be proud of our heritage and work together to lift our dear nation to new heights in this election year’
Dr. Bawumia has on numerous occasions stated the independence of his vision from that of the current President, Nana Akufo-Addo, as one that will ‘unleash the talents of the youth and offer good jobs with good pay, and sustainable growth with macroeconomic discipline’.
He remains unbothered by the traditional change of government every eight years, and believes that he can break that chain by the help of God. The Vice President holds the view that the eight-year cycle has been a bane in Ghana’s implementation of a long-term plan for which reason he should be given the opportunity to continue the good job his government has done so far while fixing the ills.
Give Bawumia a Fair Hearing; He Is Better Than Mahama
Kofi Bentil, a private legal practitioner and Senior Vice President of Imani Africa, has regarded the Vice President (VEEP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, as a more potent candidate to former president John Dramani Mahama of the opposition National Democratic Congress.
This spontaneous recommendation of Dr. Bawumia has been met with contempt, especially that Mr. Bentil has been one of the noticeable personalities in academia who have subjected the NPP government to strict scrutiny, probity and accountability.
According to him, it had become necessary to publicly declare his stance on the two fierce candidates due to the incoherent logic of some Ghanaians who find John Mahama and the NDC as a more suitable party to manage the current woes of the country.
Mr. Bentil holds the view that Dr. Bawumia is the only candidate of the two who has not had full grasp of the economy as president even though he has served two terms as the Vice President as compared to Mr. Mahama who has served as both the Vice President and President. Mr Bentil strongly argued that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is extremely limited as the Vice President by the constitution for which reason Ghanaians should give him a fair chance as president as they did for Mahama to be able to properly assess him.
Even as Veep, he claimed Dr. Bawumia has proven to be incorruptible, solution-driven and bold.
“This government is over. They are leaving. That’s the way we designed the constitution, and it’s a good safety valve to ensure there will be change. The same design now allows us the chance to put the right person in place who has shown potential but has never had the chance to implement. As compared to the one who has had the chance and shown us his best, and who we rejected.
“The fact of his earlier record is etched in history and cannot be changed. I choose to move forward, I choose to never go backward especially to an option we all rejected, Ghana has enough people so we don’t need to go back to old unsuccessful options. We can try new and promising people. I believe Dr. Bawumia is the new one we haven’t tried.”
Lawyer Kofi Bentil
Mr. Bentil stressed in his post that he remains unbothered by critics of his position but urged them to respect his choice as he does, theirs.
READ ALSO: NDC NEC Issues Caution On Fake Announcement On Running Mate Selection Process