The chances of the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia against John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will not be based entirely on their personalities.
The assertion, according to Joseph Nii Ayikoi Otoo, a former Attorney-General, is due to how Ghanaians particularly vote without necessarily factoring the contents of a candidate’s manifesto.
According to him, John Mahama as a candidate has also got his own issues following his performance in 2016.
He explained on TV3 during the coverage of the NPP presidential primary Saturday, November 4, 2023, that the state of the economy and how it affects peoples lives has a great impact on the outcome of general elections.
The legal practitioner says once Africans decide to vote for a particular party, the candidate doesn’t really make much difference.
“Whether he will beat Mahama? Mahama has got his own baggage. He was beaten with nearly 1million votes and all that.
“And you know in African politics, they are not looking for any manifesto or any individual. If they want to vote for a party called NDC and they see the colours they’ll go and vote and if they want to vote for a party called NPP they would go and vote and of course the economic situation at the time. Look at your circumstances and decide where to vote. It is key that you work on the economy,” he indicated.
He, however, casted doubts over the Vice President’s preparedness to lead the New Patriotic Party and consequently, Ghana.
According to him, even though Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia had all the resources needed to get to wherever he is, he couldn’t build himself up properly for the position.
Adding to a call earlier made by Ken Agyapong that the Vice President should answer the 170 questions posed to Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, the former Attorney-General, Mr. Ayikoi Otoo indicated that Dr. Bawumia could also be posed same questions as Vice President.
He suspects Dr. Bawumia was not advised by anyone on the trajectory he was taking politically.
“You can’t teach new tricks to a matured dog. You find that the more it tries to get away from its old ways, the more it finds itself being subbed into it because that’s how he is so you need to be groomed.
“…what happens if one day, they make me a leader, and the way I’m going wouldn’t it affect me? I don’t think that anybody advised him on the way he was going. He was my client but for some time I haven’t been seeing him.
“To me I don’t think he held himself and prepared himself for this office. Going forward, having seen what has happened, he will now you know, [prepare himself],” the former A-G stated.
He also explained the fact that “as for the resources to do the work he has it and he was able to get to wherever he is now because largely based upon the resources..[he is where he is now].”
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has been elected by the New Patriotic Party as its flag bearer for the 2024 general elections, after defeating Assin Central MP, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong and Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto and Francis Addai-Nimoh, a former MP for Mampong.
