A veteran lawyer and historian, Anokye Frimpong, has predicted that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will become the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) whether the party likes it or not.
Explaining how this will be the case, the historian said that with the kind of structure that has been set up in the party currently, it is tailor-made to make the vice president their next leader.
He added that by the time the campaign seasons are over for all the contenders in the race, the person with the fattest purse (which is Bawumia, because of his unique position) the ball will fall at the feet of the vice president without much of a contest.
“Whether the NPP likes it or not, it is Bawumia who will become their leader. Why do I say this? The current system that the NPP is operating with has been done in such a way that instead of voting right after vetting to choose a leader… what they have done is ensuring that everyone goes into the race campaigns twice.
“Let me give you a scenario: in the case of Alan Kyerematen and Kennedy Agyapong, no matter the money they have, they have already spent a lot in this first round, and then they have to campaign again towards the second round when even those numbers are higher. As for Bawumia, he is naturally ahead of them because he has the state resources at his disposal. So, the party’s structure is to sap the candidates to the extent that all their energies and their pockets are dried out,” he said in a radio interview on Okwahu FM.
Anokye Frimpong further explained that for someone like Kennedy Agyapong, one of the leading candidates in the race, no matter the amount of money he has, the system has made it such that he cannot outshine the resources available to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
He stated that with time, Bawumia will definitely become the leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“Kennedy can have money as much as anything, but he cannot overthrow that of the government, and that is where Bawumia and his father, Nana Akufo-Addo, are in charge of. So, whatever they do… their strengths will not match up to Bawumia and that is why eventually, Bawumia will become their leader,” he added.
The NPP will hold its national delegates congress on November 4, 2023, to elect its flagbearer.
