NPP Running mate: It’ll be suicidal for Bawumia to ignore Ashanti Region – Amakye-Boateng

A Senior lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kwasi Amakye-Boateng, has said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and their flagbearer Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia cannot afford to ignore the Ashanti Region in the choice of a running mate for the 2024 general elections.

He says that in the scheme of things, Dr Bawumia, who hails from the North, would have to look within the Ashanti region for his running mate.

It would be suicidal for Dr Bawumia and the NPP not to pick an Asahnti as the running mate, he said.

Speaking in an interview with Beatrice Adu on the mid-day news on 3FM Thursday February 29 said “When it comes to representation you will want to balance the ticket but in some situations, it is just more than representation. The idea of the party’s bread basket is critical.

“On this issue, personally, I don’t think the party can look away, I don’t think that Dr. Bawumia will want to go out of the Ashanti Region, it would be suicidal, he cannot afford it,  The current situation in the party calls for that. The context in which the whole thing is unfolding in the party also calls for that.”

In an earlier exclusive interview with Beatrice Adu, former Speaker of Parliament Professor Oquaye revealed that there seemed to be a positive response to selecting someone from the Ashanti Region.

“It appears that there is a feeling generally that if we had a candidate from the Ashanti Region,…the bread basket of the party, it will be reasonable and sensible to balance the ticket. Therefore, it is important to factor that into the equation….,” he suggested.

Although, there does not seem to be any express provision in the NPP’s constitution that makes it mandatory for the appointment of running mates to be done to achieve regional balance, by convention and custom practiced over time, the party has chosen candidates for regional balance.

Typical examples are from Albert Adu Boahen who chose a running mate from the north (Roland Issifu Alhassan), former President John Kufour who picked Aliu Mahama and the current President Nana Akufo Addo who chose Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

Clause six(b) of Chapter six (6) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution also emphasizes the need for example, the head of state to “achieve reasonable regional and gender balance in recruitment and appointment to public offices”.

Professor Oquaye asked the potential candidate not to compete with the president in waiting.

‘’The vice president should be someone who is not looking out for the boss’ job; a person who is also not going to work like a co-president….that there will be no clash of personalities,” he advised.