The Former Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, has asserted that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia will be the first president with an economic background in Ghana if he contests and wins the 2024 elections.

The member of parliament for Abuakwa South claims that picking someone with economic experience will dispel the assertion that the country’s presidents don't understand the economy well enough to lead the nation through difficult times.

“But I have told people in my humble view that Dr Bawumia will be the first president who is an economist. We’ve not had any and therefore nobody is going to say the president didn’t understand the economy that’s why the economy is in mess. Who understands the economy better than the one who is an economist himself, so in terms of competency I’m persuaded that he has it and is over the top,” he said.

Atta Akyea told Paul Adom-Otchere on the January 3, 2023 edition of Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana that his belief in a Mahamudu Bawumia presidency with Alan Kyeremanten as Vice President is the best so far.

According to him, the vice president's history as a Muslim shouldn't be a topic for discussion because performance is not correlated with religion, and Dr Mahmudu Bawumia should be chosen as the NPP's flagbearer.

“Some people are priests, but they are underperforming, they hold the Bible, but they are underperforming. Some people are also priests, and they are doing very well. So, I want to assert strongly that the religion of a man is not synonymous with his competence and capacity to deliver. Essentially, what we’re talking about is who is the person who can alleviate poverty and move the nation forward,” he said.

AM/DA