Former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has rejected claims that the party’s electoral loss was due to his religion or ethnicity.
According to Bawumia, he told former president Akufo-Addo he would not run again if Prof Mike Ocquaye’s report attributed the party’s defeat to me.
Dr Bawumia stressed that if the report had held him responsible for the defeat, he would have prioritised the party’s interests over his personal ambitions.
Speaking to delegates at Abuakwa on Saturday, September 13, 2025, Dr. Bawumia detailed, “Before Ocquaye report came out, I had a meeting with Akufo-Addo and others. We were having a discussion about reasons on why we lost the 2024 election.
“I told Akufo-Addo that if the findings of the Ocquaye report indicate that because I’m a Muslim or because or I’m a Mamprusi-Kusasi, we lost the election, I will step down and not contest anymore. This is what I told Akufo-Addo. Because I will not choose my interest over the party’s interest. The party’s interest must always be ahead of me.
“I told Akufo-Addo that because of the party, I will sacrifice any ambition including the fact that if I contest, we will lose. But when the Ocquaye report, Ashanti report and Konrad Adenauer Foundation report came out, all of them pointed to the same conclusion – religion, tribe was not a factor in the 2024 election,” Dr. Bawumia added.
In a separate video, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said he cannot be blamed for the party’s poor performance in the Bawku zone in the 2024 elections.
The NPP during the 2024 election failed to secure a seat in any of the six constituencies.
Dr Bawumia argued that the NPP’s struggles in the Bawku enclave are historical,
He noted that the area has traditionally been a stronghold of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Speaking to NPP party supporters at Effiduase in the Ashanti Region on Thursday, September 11, Dr Bawumia stated, “They claim we lost the 2024 elections because of the Mamprusi-Kusasi conflict. Those claims will not wash. They would have given me a knock-out if it’s true because I’m a Mamprusi. I was not even born when the conflict started”.
“Since 1965, there have been 11 elections in Ghana, in the Bawku zone, which has six constituencies. The NPP has won only two seats, being the highest. In most of the elections, we had zero seats in six of the 11 elections,” Bawumia explained.
Dr Bawumia further recalled, “In 2004, former president J. A. Kufuor won the election, but the NPP scored zero in the Bawku zone. In 2012, former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was the flagbearer, but we had zero seats in the Bawku zone. We were not part of the conflict.
In 2024, we had zero seats in the Bawku enclave. If you look at the trajectory, was I the cause? I can’t be blamed for our poor performance in the Bawku zone, which is an NDC stronghold,” he emphasised.
Meanwhile, Kennedy Agyapong, a former member of parliament for Assin Central and a NPP presidential candidate hopeful, has told Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to enlighten fellow aspirants on how the NPP lost the 2024 election by 1.7 million votes.
The former lawmaker asserted that Dr Bawumia says it was not his fault, or his religion or tribe that caused the party’s defeat.
According to Kennedy Agyapong, Bawumia knows this because of Mike Ocquaye’s report, which only the former flagbearer seems to have read.
He highlighted that Bawumia is the sole custodian of the truth regarding the NPP’s defeat, so he must enlighten others.
In a social media post on X, Kennedy Agyapong wrote, “Over 1.7 MILLION vote loss. Dr. Bawumia says it wasn’t the flagbearer, religion or tribe. He knows this because of the Mike Ocquaye’s report, which only he seems to have read.
So, since you’re the sole custodian of the “truth,” please enlighten us”.
Watch the video below:
"I told Nana Addo that I would not run again if the Ocquaye report attributed the party’s defeat to me"
— SIKAOFFICIAL🦍 (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) September 14, 2025
-Former Vice President Dr. Bawumia has rejected claims that the party’s electoral loss was due to his religion or ethnicity.
He stressed that if the Ocquaye report had held… pic.twitter.com/Q0z11gxp74