Former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has stated that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) dislikes him because his campaign strategy in 2016 played a key role in removing them from power, allowing the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to win the presidential election.
Speaking to NPP delegates during his campaign tour of the Oti Region, the flagbearer hopeful recounted his approach during the 2016 electioneering campaign, explaining that he took charge of confronting then President John Dramani Mahama directly. The statement was published by MyNewsGh on Sunday November 9, 2025.
Dr Bawumia, who is campaigning to be elected as the NPP’s flagbearer for the 2028 presidential election, said he advised Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to take a back seat during the 2016 campaign so he could tackle President Mahama head on. He stated that he took on the former president and called him incompetent, which drew strong responses from Mahama who then focused his campaign attacks on the running mate rather than the presidential candidate.
The former vice president explained that the strategy worked because the spotlight was placed on him, and President Mahama continued to focus on him throughout the campaign, which gave Nana Akufo Addo the opportunity to focus on his own campaign message to win the election. He emphasized that his hard work and strategic approach contributed to the NPP’s victory over the incumbent administration.
Dr Bawumia stated that this is why the NDC does not like him, noting that when they hear his name, they start insulting him because his hard work and strategy took them into opposition in the 2016 elections. He suggested that the lingering animosity from NDC members stems from his effective criticism of their governance record and his role in their electoral defeat.
The 2016 general election was historic as it marked the first time in Ghana’s Fourth Republic that an incumbent president serving his first term was voted out of office. Nana Akufo Addo won the presidency with approximately 53.8 percent of the vote, defeating President Mahama who received about 44.4 percent. The NPP also won a majority in Parliament, taking 169 seats compared to the NDC’s 106 seats.
Dr Bawumia served as running mate to Nana Akufo Addo in both the 2012 and 2016 elections, after being initially selected for the role in 2008. Following the 2016 victory, he was sworn in as Ghana’s seventh Vice President on January 7, 2017, serving two terms until January 7, 2025. He was the NPP’s presidential candidate in the December 2024 general election but was defeated by former President John Mahama, who won with 57 percent of the vote compared to Bawumia’s approximately 41 percent.
The former vice president is now seeking to become the NPP’s flagbearer for the 2028 presidential election. The NPP is scheduled to hold its presidential primaries on Saturday January 31, 2026, to elect its candidate for the next general election. Dr Bawumia is considered one of the main frontrunners in the race.
He faces competition from Kennedy Agyapong, a former Member of Parliament for Assin Central; Dr Bryan Acheampong, former Minister of Food and Agriculture and Member of Parliament for Abetifi; Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, former Minister of Education and Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe; and Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, the former General Secretary of the NPP. The five aspirants have intensified their campaigns, crisscrossing the country to canvass for votes from NPP delegates as the flagbearer race draws nearer.
During his campaign tour of the Oti Region, Dr Bawumia also accused the ruling NDC of secretly supporting some of his opponents in the NPP’s upcoming flagbearer race. Speaking to party delegates, he claimed that the NDC is doing everything to ensure he does not become the flagbearer because they are scared. He stated that the NDC does not want him to win the NPP flagbearer race and that is why they are campaigning for some of his opponents, expressing confidence that if he wins the flagbearer race, he will win the 2028 elections.
NPP Oti Regional Chairman Evans Yaw Dapaah, welcoming Dr Bawumia to Dambai on Friday at the start of the former vice president’s campaign tour, urged party members to rally behind the former vice president and retain him as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2028 election. The regional chairman urged party members to be guided by history of the Fourth Republic where candidates who are consistently retained by the two major political parties after initial defeats go on to emerge as presidents.
Citing examples of presidents of the Fourth Republic, the regional chairman noted that there is wisdom in consistency. He referenced how President John Agyekum Kufuor was backed by the NPP on multiple occasions before winning in 2000, how Nana Akufo Addo was supported three times before eventually winning, and how the NDC backed the late John Evans Atta Mills on three occasions before he won. He also pointed out that John Mahama, after losing as a sitting president in 2016, was backed twice by the NDC before emerging as president again in 2024.
A poll cited by YEN.com.gh showed that 72 percent of voters from the 2023 primary still support Dr Bawumia over Kennedy Agyapong. The poll suggested that Bawumia’s stronghold in the Ashanti Region and support from disgruntled NPP voters could secure his position as the party’s candidate for the 2028 presidential bid. However, the race remains competitive with several months of campaigning ahead before the January 31, 2026 primaries.
Dr Bawumia, who was born on October 7, 1963, in Tamale, holds a PhD in Economics from Simon Fraser University. He served as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana from 2006 to 2008 and as Resident Representative of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe in 2011. His areas of specialization include macroeconomics, international economics, development economics, and monetary policy.
The former vice president emphasized his confidence in winning both the flagbearer race and the 2028 general elections, citing his strong grassroots support and what he described as his marketability among voters. As the campaign continues, attention will focus on how the five aspirants differentiate themselves and appeal to party delegates ahead of the crucial primary election that will determine who leads the NPP into the 2028 presidential race.