My endorsement of Bawumia not IMANI’s position – Bentil

Vice President of the policy think tank, IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil has said his endorsement of the candidature of Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia for the 2024 election does not represent the position of the think tank.

The Lawyer cum Lecturer has urged Ghanaians to give Dr. Bawumia a chance as president, like they gave John Mahama and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, but not to go back to someone they rejected on two occasions, after giving him just a term in office.

He claims that between the two front-runners, the Vice President, who also happens to be the flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), is a stronger candidate than the outgoing President, John Dramani Mahama, who was rejected by Ghanaians in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.

In a provocative statement, Kofi Bentil, who has been critical of the policies of the Akufo-Addo administration, supported Dr Bawumia, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to be the next president of Ghana.

He said that Dr. Bawumia should not be punished for the transgressions of the Akufo-Addo administration, particularly considering that Mahama served as vice president for two terms before taking office.

“We gave President Mahama a chance to be president; the least we can do is give Dr. Bawumia a fair and objective hearing. He is not president and has never been president! I have no doubt he will be better!” he wrote on Facebook.

Some members of the public have said that until IMANI states to disassociate itself from Mr Bentil’s comment, they’ll take that to be the position of the think-thank which is known to be neutral.

But Mr Bentil in an interview on News File show monitored by Kasapafmonline.com said such persons have chosen to do so.

"You see, IMANI has not issued a statement telling you that this is what we’ve done. That is what we do when we have something to say at IMANI, we issue statements, we have a website, we do publications, we have presentations. We don’t have a problem speaking to and owning up to the things we say, regardless of how controversial or difficult they are. This is not IMANI, this is me and I have the permission of my brothers in IMANI and the IMANI Board. I told them I had to do this and I explained why. We have individual choices, IMANI does not endorse candidates, we do what we have to do and we live things to be."