, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has revealed that he would have abandoned his presidential ambitions if the party’s post-election review had linked its defeat to his religion or ethnic background.){kind=link}
Former Vice President and 2024 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has revealed that he would have abandoned his presidential ambitions if the party’s post-election review had linked its defeat to his religion or ethnic background.
Addressing delegates in Abuakwa on Saturday, Dr. Bawumia said he made it clear to former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and other party leaders that he was prepared to sacrifice his personal ambition for the survival and unity of the NPP.
“Before the Ocquaye report came out, I had a meeting with Akufo-Addo and others. I told them that if the findings indicated that because I’m a Muslim or because I’m a Mamprusi-Kusasi we lost the election, I would step down and not contest anymore,” he said. “I will not choose my interest over the party’s interest. The party’s interest must always come first.”
Dr. Bawumia emphasized that he was willing to bow out if his candidacy threatened the NPP’s electoral chances in the future. However, he pointed out that the reports including the Ocquaye Report, the Ashanti Report, and a review by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation all concluded that neither religion nor ethnicity played a role in the party’s 2024 defeat.
In early 2025, the NPP commissioned a 12-member committee chaired by former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, to investigate the reasons behind the party’s loss in the 2024 general elections. The committee produced a comprehensive post-election report, which the party has since declared confidential, to guide its internal reforms ahead of the 2028 polls.
The NPP leadership announced in April 2025 that the findings of the report would not be made public, insisting it was strictly for internal reorganization.
Dr. Bawumia’s remarks come as he intensifies efforts to rally the party base and present himself as the best candidate to lead the NPP into the 2028 general elections.