Former Ashanti Regional Deputy Minister, Joseph Yamin has described a group of clergymen who visited NPP flagbearer, Dr. Mahmoud Bawumia, after his election as flagbearer as hypocrites and partisan in their affairs.

The NDC National Executive, who also has background training as a theologian believes, the supposed men of God in actual sense are politicians who are only wearing the cassock to deceive and confuse the public a situation he has seen through them.

Days after the NPP flagbearer-ship race, Dr. Bawumia posted on his Facebook wall picture of clergymen in Ashanti who visited to congratulate him, with the caption: “Today two separate groups of clergymen from the Ashanti Region and Anglican Diocese of Accra respectively visited me at home and the Jubilee House to congratulate me as the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party. I truly appreciate this gestures and this will further deepen my long-standing close relationship with the church and deepen religious tolerance in Ghana.”

This, Mr. Yamin, in an exclusive interview with Ultimate FM, in Ashanti region, stated that it is uncalled for as Dr. Bawumia is a partisan party leader and not a national symbol deserving of congratulations from these clergymen.

“We never saw these pastors going to congratulate his Excellency John Dramani Mahama, who believes in the Christian faith as the flagbearer of the NDC but the Christians will rather go and congratulate a Muslim who does not believe in their faith as the flagbearer of the NPP.

“I am speaking here not as a politician but as a theologian and a Christian who is surprise about these move by Christians, I will leave the Muslims to deal with their own leaders.

“What do they seek to achieve if not for their own interest, if not for the simple fact that they are members of the political party we call the NPP, why will they be interested in another faith rather than the faith they believe in” Yamin questioned.

“I call it hypocritical and a nice way of deceiving the people just for their own parochial interest. I have never heard them criticize the numerous lies peddled by Bawumia in his leadership as the vice president of this republic. The bible speaks against lies, and so if the Christian faith will see no evil or hear no evil of the NPP and Bawumia in particular, I am very much surprised”

Mr. Yamin suggested that if it were Islamic clerics from the region, he would have found no problem with it as it could be deemed as the Islamic community congratulating one of their own who has seen an elevation

“These pastors who visited Bawumia to congratulate him, Bawumia is a Muslim and there is this saying that let the dead bury the dead, if I will literally translate that, is better the Muslim preachers rather go and congratulate him as a flag-bearer of the NPP, I won’t have a problem with that because they belong to the Islamic faith.

“Because that will be like the Islamic faith going to congratulate one of their owns for his elevation but I find it so hypocritical and very interesting that development from the Christian community, some selected pastors from Ashanti region to want to go and congratulate him.”