A Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Dr Stephen Amoah, has said that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) would have lost the 2016 presidential election but for Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

According to him, the role the vice president played in the 2012 election petition cleared the way for the party’s victory in the 2016 presidential elections.

He, therefore, refuted assertions that Dr Bawumia is not a member of the NPP and has done nothing for the party.

“What made me like Bawumia is just one thing. I remember when we went to the Supreme Court, one day we were only 21 in court and the vice president was in the witness box and was being bombarded with questions.

“.... if not for Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, we would not have won the first election that we won (the 2016 elections). He was the one who explained issues for us to get clarity (in the 2012 election petition).

“What he went through made NPP ready for the subsequent election which we won. But today, people are saying he is not a number of the party,” Dr Amoah said in Twi as he was addressing members of the NPP at a campaign event for the vice president.

The deputy trades minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso, added that even though all the contenders in the NPP flagbearership race are qualified to lead the NPP, Dr Bawumia is the best among them.

He urged supporters of all the presidential hopefuls to desist from politics of insults and tribalism so that the party would not be fractured after the presidential primaries.

Ten people would be contesting in the NPP presidential primaries which is slated for August and November 2023. A super delegate conference would be held in August 2023 to reduce the number of contenders to five while the primaries proper would be held in November 2023 to choose the party’s presidential candidate for the 2024 elections.

The ten candidates include Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia; a former Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen; Kwadwo Poku, an energy expert; Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Joe Ghartey; a former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto; a former General Secretary of the NPP, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong; MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong; a former MP for Offinso North, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku; and a former Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko.

Watch Dr Stephen Amoah’s remarks in the video below:



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