Opinion: Why is the NPP in a hurry to discard Dr. Bawumia?

After 16 years of loyalty, tireless service, and sacrifice, the NPP appears desperate to throw Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia under the bus, treating him like yesterday’s news just because of the party’s humiliating defeat in the 2024 general elections.

The man once hailed as the economic Wizkid and the digitalisation Mallam, the same man who stood by Akufo-Addo through every crisis, is now being dumped without hesitation. But why?

Bawumia is not the first first-time flagbearer to lose an election—and he certainly won’t be the last. The same party that gave John Agyekum Kufuor two terms, ran Nana Akufo-Addo three times before he won, and saw both Atta Mills and Mahama return for another shot is now suddenly pretending that repeating a candidate is a crime. Why was Akufo-Addo not discarded after his first defeat in 2008? Why was he given multiple chances while Bawumia is being sacrificed after just one?

For eight years, Bawumia defended every policy, shielded the party through economic turmoil, took the hardest hits meant for others, and stood in the fire while others remained silent. But the reward for his unwavering loyalty? A swift and brutal rejection. Is this how the NPP repays those who sacrifice everything for the party?

“We felt used. Bawumia was presented to us, but we all knew he wasn’t calling the shots. The real power was still with Akufo-Addo and his people,” an Ashanti delegate fumed.

The party’s own stronghold—the Ashanti Region—delivered a harsh verdict in 2024. Not only did the NPP lose four more seats, but their total votes collapsed by 23.7%, falling from 1,790,973 in 2020 to 1,336,800 in 2024. The same party that backed Bawumia for years is now eager to erase him from history—branding him a “placeholder,” a “puppet,” and a “failure.” But is that really the full story?

“We begged him to speak up against Ofori-Atta, to show he had some independence. But he never did. If you can’t even stand up to your own boss, how do you expect Ghanaians to believe you can fix the mess?” a senior NPP executive admitted.

But let’s be honest—Bawumia was not the first Vice President forced to defend an administration’s policies. Mahama stood by Atta Mills. Kufuor defended Rawlings’ economic decisions when he was Deputy Finance Minister. Even Akufo-Addo, after losing in 2008, was not blamed for Kufuor’s economic failings but was instead given two more chances.

So why is Bawumia the only one paying for Akufo-Addo’s sins? Why is he the only one whose career must be sacrificed to “save” the NPP? Have we forgotten that he left a lucrative career at the Bank of Ghana to join Nana Akufo-Addo’s ticket? Is this how the NPP treats its most loyal soldiers?

“You were the head of the Economic Management Team. If you weren’t responsible, who was?” a frustrated party strategist asked.

The report makes one thing clear—Bawumia’s presidential bid was doomed from the start. Akufo-Addo’s loyalists controlled his campaign, dictated his speeches, and left him powerless to shape his own vision.

“We knew from the start that the real power lay elsewhere. Bawumia was just a face, a candidate picked to appease certain factions, but he never had the freedom to make his own decisions,” an NPP insider admitted.

Now, the same party that paraded him as the future is washing its hands of him. If he had won, they would have celebrated him as the party’s hero. But now that he has lost, he has become the perfect scapegoat.

“If we present another weak candidate controlled by the same people who destroyed our party, we can forget about 2028. Ghanaians want a leader, not a puppet,” a senior NPP strategist warned.

But if Bawumia is truly to blame for everything, then what about the NPP’s economic decisions? What about the ministers, party executives, and Akufo-Addo loyalists who crafted the policies? If Bawumia was a “puppet,” then who were the puppet masters—and why are they not being sacrificed too?

The message from the NPP is clear loyalty is a one-way street. Serve the party, defend it through thick and thin, and when things go wrong, prepare to be thrown away like a used tissue.

The party is now desperately searching for a new saviour ahead of 2028. But before they turn the page on Bawumia, they may need to ask themselves a hard question—if this is how they treat one of their most loyal and hardworking figures, why should any future leader trust them?

Bawumia’s fate is a warning to all—in the NPP, you’re useful until you’re not.

By: Charles McCarthy

Email: mccarthy4uall@gmail.com

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