Don't present Bawumia as flagbearer in 2028 - Ernest Owusu Bempah tells NPP

A Deputy Communications Officer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ernest Owusu Bempah, has advised the leadership of the party not to retain former Vice President and 2024 NPP flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, as its presidential candidate for the 2028 general elections.

In an interview on Oyerepa FM, monitored by GhanaWeb on Monday, April 14, 2025, he attributed the party's defeat in the 2024 elections to its flagbearer, claiming that the grassroots were unhappy with Dr Bawumia's candidacy.

“For the first time, I met a taxi driver who is a member of the NPP and told me he voted for the NDC in the 2024 election. He even showed me his party card. His reason was simple: we didn’t choose the right candidate. Over 2.1 million NPP supporters abstained from voting because they did not approve of our presidential candidate,” he said.

Ernest Owusu Bempah also challenged the media to conduct an independent survey to verify claims of disinterest among the party's support base.

“Go out there with a hidden camera and ask the ordinary people; the NPP party base, supporters, refused to vote. Do you know what that means?"

“There are so many things happening in this country. The youth have lost interest in the party. I’ve been on the ground, and it’s not a joke. The truth is that ordinary Ghanaians want the NPP to change the flagbearer in 2028," he noted.

In response to their defeat in last year's general elections, the party has commissioned a committee led by the former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, to evaluate the election outcome and submit a report as part of its reorganisation efforts for the 2028 elections.

Watch the video below:

NPP reorganization : Reject Dr. Bawumia as the party's flagbearer for 2028. He is not the man of the people. - Ernest Owusu Bempah to NPP #OYEREPA pic.twitter.com/06FJRf1ZjR

— Oyerepa TV/FM (@oyerepaofficial) April 14, 2025