Elements in the NPP like Bawumia are overrated – Solomon Owusu

A member of the NPP communication team has described Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia’s popularity as one that does not bring electoral fortunes.

Solomon Owusu believes that Bawumia’s personality has been overrated in the governing NPP.

Going into election 2024, the NPP, just like the opposition NDC, are preparing to elect a flagbearer to go lead both political parties into the crucial elections.

Although Dr Bawumia has not openly declared his intentions to join the flagbearership race, the contest is conspicuously between him and former Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan John Kyerematen, whose supporters in the party have commenced campaigning for their favourite.

Alan has contested the position twice since 2008. Bawumia, on the other hand, will be the new candidate to join the race if he decides to contest.

Being the Vice President who is always in the limelight, some party members believe Bawumia has an advantage over Alan who was a minister and was quite reserved.

But Solomon Owusu, a member of the Alan Kyerematen campaign team, disagrees with those holding on to that opinion.

To him, the so-called Bawumia’s popularity couldn’t win NPP a parliamentary seat in his constituency– Ayawaso East in the 2020 polls– unlike Alan whose influence helped the NPP maintain the Ayawaso West Wuogon seat within that period.

“The 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Election taught us how we have overrated some personalities in the NPP,” Owusu argued and went on to break down the numbers.

Below is his statement;

EXPOSING THE MYTH

In the Greater Accra Region, the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Election taught us how we have overrated some personalities in the NPP. The results of the 2020 Presidential elections in the Greater Region stood as follows:

NPP: 1,253,179

NDC: 1,326,489

The difference between the NPP and the NDC was 73,310 votes. Curious enough, I decided to peruse the results from the various constituencies in the region to know which of the constituencies led to this difference of 73,310.

A constituency that immediately came to mind was the Ayawaso East. Folks this constituency came into a sharp focus because the current Vice President ALHAJI Bawumia lives in Kanda which falls under the Ayawaso East constituency and so one was expecting the NPP to beat the NDC hands down based on two reasons which have been playing lately by the team members of the Vice President.

The Ayawaso East constituency is predominantly a Muslim community and we have been told that the Vice President has what it takes to win votes in these areas to help the NPP and also the fact that the Vice President is that popular. Mind you, popularity could be positive or negative.

The Presidential election results of Ayawaso East suggest to me that the Vice President is popular in the negative sense when it comes to his Neighbourhood.

Ayawaso East constituency where the Vice President resides, sleeps, dances, eats and spends more time than any other Neighbourhood in this country produced the following Presidential Election outcome in 2020:

NPP: 13,904

NDC: 24,320

Difference: 10,416.

Folks remember I have already told you that the difference between the NDC and the NPP was 73,310. The difference in votes at the Ayawaso East constituency where the Vice President resides constitutes 14%.

Apart from losing in the Presidential elections in that constituency, the NPP also lost in the parliamentary elections thereby leading to a hung parliament.