A pro-NPP youth group, Zongo For 2024, has called on Ghana's vice president, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, to avoid tribal bigotry and abuse of incumbency ahead of the party's expected showdown for flagbearer in 2023. The group stressed that the veep needs to be decorous in his pseudo campaign in the supreme interest of the party. At a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, the group itemized three areas abused by the vice president in the build up to the internal contest in the party, while calling on the leadership of the party to assert their authority by whipping him into line. According to the group, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia met some party executives in Kaliba during his tour of the Northern Region in a pseudo campaign for his presidential dreams, where he gave them reasons for which he should be voted for. "HE the Vice President is on a tour to play on the emotions and sensibilities of the delegates using tribal bigotry, regional and religious sentiments to drive home his campaign message. This old and outdated concept , which is aimed at winning the sympathy of the Northern delegates to vote for him in the upcoming internal exercise to choose a flag bearer could prove fatal if the other tribes choose to go tribal," part of the press statement read. The pressure group also called on the leadership of the party not to dance to the tune of the vice president if they have the party at heart. With less than one year to the internal contest, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Alan Kyerematen, among others, are set to battle it out for the next NPP flagbearer position. Read the full statement below: Press Conference On The Abuse Of Incumbency By HE Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia Organized By Zongo For NPP 2024 Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, Friends of the Elephant family, we are very grateful to you for honouring our invitation of this party-saving press conference organized by a pro-NPP group within the Zongos. This group (Zongo For NPP 2024) is a pro-NPP group aimed at canvassing votes in the operation Break The Eight Mantra. As a larger family with a common course and aim, it is rather strange and nauseating at the very least, to observe the self-inflicting injurious lane taken by HE the Vice President and some charlatans within our party. As a party with laid down rules and regulations, it is rather strange seeing all efforts being put in place to make the toil of past NPP leaders go down the gutters. As a known fact, HE Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has strangely fixated his mindset on the Presidential throne despite the current woes of Ghanaians and our party at large. At a time we should be looking for a leeway to tell the citizenry we have the managerial nous to solve the problems of the country, the Leader of the Economic Management Team, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has opted to launch his Presidential bid openly. The agenda during his tour is to give each Constituency Executive 1,000Ghc, Electoral Area Coördinator 100 Ghc and each PS Executives. 30 Ghc. Currently his team have instructed all the 17 Constituency Executives, and the 23 EA Coordinators be transported to Kpalbe to receive their cash and receive their briefing. Obviously the Commissioning of the market is a camouflage. HE has also promised the 31 Chairmen in the 3 Northern Regions that he would build a house with an additional pickup for each of them if they assist in his getting 100% during the special vote to select the 5 aspirants for the party. As desperate as the inconsistent Bawumia is, must he be allowed to have his ways within the NPP like a highway? This press conference is to highlight three key facets broken by the power-seeking H.E Dr. Bawumia at a time we should collectively team up to salvage our image as a party and government. These three themes from our press conference are:- 1. Abuse of incumbency and state resources 2. Violation of the NPP code of conduct 3. Dividing and destroying NPP with tribal and religious campaign Ladies and Gentlemen, it is indeed, worrying that H.E Dr. Bawumia has snubbed the National Council directives, rules and ethics of the party to set a very bad and dangerous precedence by boldly breaching the rules and the ethics of the party regarding the conduct of the party Delegates Conference and Campaign. This is because HE Dr. Bawumia is aware of these rules and ethics but is openly campaigning under the disguise of an official tour of the Northern belt of Ghana of which he and his team went to Yendi SHS to meet our cherished party delegates. Some delegates they met included the like of Regional Minister, Regional Chairman, Regional Executive, Constituency Executive, Electoral Area Coordinator, and some Polling station Executives. If he, a key facet of our beloved party, decides to violate rules at will, how does he expect the ordinary delegate and voter to behave? Follow suit? Apart from breaching these standards, the power seeking Veep has strangely engaged In religious and tribal bigotry. Why will the Vice President be making comments about unfortunate, needles, tribal and religious campaigns when he knows it is unethical? H.E Dr. Bawumia has been recorded consistently saying "I am one of you, your own and a colleague Northerner", this is not only tribal but also a statement of bigotry. Must voting be based on tribalism or religious bondage? Is he saying Northerners should vote for their candidates and Southerners vote for their own? If that card is played where will he end up? Perhaps third of three. His desperation for power must not blind other stakeholders from accepting anything from him. Can HE Dr. Bawumia tell us, specifically the purpose of his tour other than the prosecution of his Campaign programme to whip up support from the Delegates to fulfil his flag bearership bid? What is more dangerous and destructive to the party is his Campaign message to the Delegates to see him as the only hope of the Northerners in the NPP. (Reporting When/Where he said this will build more credibility) The President of the land, H.E. Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo, has admitted that Ghana is facing a post covid pandemic, Russia/Ukraine War-induced economic crisis, a situation we all know and unanimously admit that Ghanaians are really suffering. So we are asking Dr. Bawumia that, if he has any fresh ideas why won't he implement them now but rather try to hide them until he becomes President? What is the guarantee that Ghanaians, under this current hardship will entrust NPP in 2024 if we don't solve the current managerial paralysis? Why is HE the Vice President, Ghana’s economic whiz kid, not leading the Government discussions during the World Bank and the IMF annual meetings which commence in Washington DC today Monday 10th October 2022? HE the Vice President is on a tour to play on the emotions and sensibilities of the delegates using Tribal Bigotry, Regional and Religious sentiments to drive home his campaign message. This old and outdated concept, which is aimed at winning the sympathy of the Northern delegates to vote for him in the upcoming internal exercise to choose a flag bearer could prove fatal if the other tribes choose to go tribal. Did he factor in the numbers before playing that tribal card? The earlier leadership whip him in line, the better for us all. Ladies and Gentlemen, we want to sound unambiguous that, the NPP is a Broad-Base National Party which has no room for Tribal, Religious and Regional Considerations. All that the Party stands for is Competencies and Good Governance for the good people of Ghana. We thank you so much for your attention and coming. God bless our Homeland Ghana and make us great and strong. Love live our great party NPP. ......................... Edward Adams Leader Patriotic Movement.