NPP to endorse Bawumiah as running mate…

Barring any last minute postponement, the Steering Committee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) would be holding a post congress meeting to deliberate on the way forward for the party.

Sources within the party have hinted The Chronicle that among the key issues to be considered at the meeting is the choice of running mate for the presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo.

Per the party’s constitution, the presidential candidate can only name his running mate after consultation with the party leadership.

Nana Addo, who won a landslide victory in last Saturday’s National Delegate Congress of the party by sweeping 94.3% of the valid votes cast, had already indicated his intention to re-nominate Dr. Mahamadu Bawumiah, the astute economist as his running mate.

Nana Addo made the public statement when he addressed party delegates at Wa in the heat of the just ended presidential primary.

The sources, however, confided in The Chronicle that though the re-nomination of Dr. Bawumiah is no more a secret, the decision is not officially known to the party.

The new flagbearer would, therefore, be expected to make his decision officially known to the party at today’s meeting, which would be attended by all those who matter in the party.

Dr. Bawumiah, who was not known in political circles, was brought to political limelight by Nana Addo when he nominated him as his running mate for the 2008 elections.

When NPP failed to win the election, Nana kept faith in Bawumiah by naming him once again for the 2012 general elections as his running mate.

When the party again failed to win the election and proceeded to the Supreme Court to challenge the results, Dr. Bawumiah, a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, who led the petitioners, distinguished himself to the admiration of the mass followers of the party. Though the petitioners lost the case, it made Dr. Bawumiah more popular in the party.

Dr. Bawumiah has also persistently offered constructive criticisms, especially on the economy. He, for instance, argued that the single digit inflation was artificial and that it would not be sustainable in the long term. Today, the inflation figure has moved from single digit to 16%.

He also predicted the fast depreciation of the cedi, in addition to punching holes in the claim that the government was spending 70% of her Internally Generated Revenue on the wage bill.

All these predictions and counter arguments have come to pass, as the Cedi depreciated to a point where it was being exchanged for GH¢3.90 to the US dollar.

Based on this performance, Nana Addo has been left with no option than to re-nominate him for the ‘great fight’ in 2016.

The Chronicle established that after today’s meeting, where the issue about Nana’s running mate would be discussed, the party would start putting all structures in place to prosecute the election 2016 agenda.

Among the structures is the naming of a Campaign Manager, who would coordinate all the activities and also draw up strategies among others.

A bird has whispered into the ears of The Chronicle that Mr. Dan Kwaku Botwe, the Member of Parliament for Okere in the Eastern Region and former General Secretary of the party would likely be appointed as the Campaign Manager.

Party gurus are dodgy over the issue, but The Chronicle can report that negotiations were still ongoing over the appointment.

Unlike 2012, where the presidential candidate appeared to have conducted his campaign independent of that of the party, this time round, efforts are being made to have one campaign team that would be spearheaded by the national secretariat of the party.

Mr. Dan Botwe, who could be described as a walking encyclopaedia, led NPP from opposition to government in 2000. He refused to accept ministerial appointment offered him and instead decided to work to strengthen the structures of the party and make it attractive to the voters.

His decision paid for the party, as NPP headed by President Kufuor was re-elected in 2004, to continue with the positive change agenda. He was later drafted into government as Minister for Information, only to be dropped under controversial circumstances by President Kufuor, during one of his cabinet reshuffles.

At the time, there were rumours that President Kufuor booted his party ‘General’ from government because he failed to defend him when the issue about his son purchasing a hotel near his residence came up, which the National Democratic Congress (NDC) members were feeding on, to undermine his government.

Mr. Botwe was, however, not perturbed but went ahead to contest the then newly created Okere constituency and won handsomely to represent the party in Parliament.

He was re-elected during the 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections. He is seen as a potential presidential candidate for the party in the not too long future.

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the party, Kwabena Agyei Agypong, has confirmed to The Chronicle that indeed the Steering Committee of the party would be meeting today, but kept details of what they would discuss to his chest.