BY Issah Olegor
Former Vice President and 2024 New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has sharply condemned tribal and religious propaganda being promoted by some party members, warning that such tactics threaten the unity and credibility of the NPP ahead of the 2028 elections.
Addressing the party’s 33rd Anniversary celebration in New York on Sunday, August 24, Dr. Bawumia urged the party to heal from the 2024 electoral setback by rejecting divisive narratives and embracing inclusivity.
Dr. Bawumia singled out claims by certain aspirants suggesting that his northern and Muslim background rendered him unelectable, describing such narratives as “baseless, false, and dangerous” to the party’s future.
“The people playing the religion and tribal cards clearly do not have a message. That propaganda is not only false but also dangerous for the NPP,” he said, asserting that unity, not division, remains central to the party’s success.
To underscore his point, Dr. Bawumia cited the Professor Mike Oquaye report, commissioned to analyze the NPP’s 2024 election loss.
The report found that nearly 80 percent of voters based their decisions on dissatisfaction with the government’s performance, rather than tribal or religious considerations.
Dr. Bawumia further noted that his presidential votes in 2024 outperformed those of several Christian parliamentary candidates in the party’s traditional strongholds, directly refuting claims of bias against his background.
Highlighting the party’s historical foundations, Dr. Bawumia recalled the NPP’s lineage in the United Party (UP), which united diverse groups, including the Northern People’s Party, the Muslim Association Party, the Ga Shifimokpee, and the Anlo Youth Organisation.
“It is clear that the bonds of unity in diversity have been our lifeblood and our foundation. Now more than ever, we must refresh them,” he declared, urging members to focus on the party’s inclusive principles rather than sectarian interests.
Dr. Bawumia also dismissed suggestions that the long-standing Mamprusi-Kusasi conflict in Bawku influenced the party’s 2024 performance.
Presenting historical election data dating back to 1965, he demonstrated that the NPP has historically faced challenges in the Bawku zone regardless of its presidential candidate, affirming that local conflicts were not decisive factors in the last election.
Calling for maturity and vision among party aspirants, Dr. Bawumia urged members to emphasize policies, ideas, leadership experience, and integrity rather than tribal and religious appeals.
“If you want to contest me, come with a vision, come with your ideas, come with your track record, come with your integrity, and let us decide. Your message cannot be that I am a Muslim, a northerner, or a Mamprusi man. That is not the politics of the NPP,” he said.
Concluding his address, Dr. Bawumia warned that repeating sectarian politics risks branding the NPP as a tribal and sectional party, undermining its historic reputation as a party of unity.
“Let us not repeat the divisions that cost us in 1979. If we heal and stand together, we will be unstoppable in 2028,” he emphasized, calling on all members to rally around a shared purpose and place the party’s collective mission above individual ambitions.
