Former Vice President and 2024 New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has cautioned party members against promoting tribal narratives, describing such tactics as a dangerous threat to the NPP’s unity and survival.
He urged aspirants and supporters to desist from divisive propaganda and instead help the party heal from its 2024 electoral defeat.
Speaking in New York on Sunday, August 24, at the party’s 33rd Anniversary celebration, he said “Let us be clear that these views do not represent the rank and file of the party. The NPP will always triumph over tribal and religious bigots. What we need is unity to go forward and win 2028.”
The former flagbearer condemned claims by some aspirants that his ethnic background made him unelectable, dismissing such arguments as baseless and harmful.
He reminded the party of its long-standing tradition of inclusivity, tracing its roots to the United Party (UP), which brought together diverse groups including the Northern People’s Party, the Muslim Association Party, the Ga Shifimokpee, and the Anlo Youth Organisation.
“It is clear therefore that the bonds of unity in diversity have been our lifeblood and our foundation. Now more than ever, we must refresh them,” he stressed.
Dr. Bawumia further noted that the party had never judged him by his identity when he defended the NPP in court, campaigned across the country, or helped secure victories in 2016 and 2020.
“When I was campaigning the length and breadth of Ghana, nobody said I was a northerner, a Mamprusi or a Muslim. So what has changed now?” he asked.
Calling for maturity and reconciliation, he warned that tribal propaganda risked branding the NPP as a sectional party, a mistake he said must be avoided at all costs.
“This propaganda risks pigeonholing the NPP as a tribal and sectional party. That is not who we are. We are the party of unity, the party that embraces all. Let us not repeat the divisions that cost us in 1979. If we heal and stand together, we will be unstoppable in 2028,” Dr. Bawumia concluded.
