Local governance expert, Issaka Amon Kotei has challenged Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to select anyone as his running mate in the upcoming 2024 general election if he thinks the position of the vice president can be likened to the work of a bus conductor, popularly known as ‘mate’.

In a panel discussion on United Television on Saturday, he stated that he does not take Dr Bawumia seriously because the vice president has yet to make any intellectual impact on Ghanaians. Dr Bawumia in a recent public lecture used a driver-mate analogy to describe the powers and limitations of the Office of the Vice President.

Referencing the example used by Dr Bawumia, Amon Kotei, challenged the vice president who is the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to randomly select anyone as his running mate if he genuinely believes the vice president of Ghana wields no power.

“Most often, when I listen to the vice president, I don’t take him seriously because he has not made any intellectual impact on Ghanaians. If the vice president position is just like that of a mate as he implies, why doesn’t he choose anyone as his running mate,” Amon Kotei quizzed.

According to the local governance expert, the role of the vice president is pivotal in the administration of the country. He said the constitution explicitly provides for and empowers the vice president to assume leadership in the absence of the president, underscoring their crucial position in the governance structure.

By conviction, the vice president also chairs the Economic Management Team, another crucial body to the administration of the country.

Bawumia's vision

During his first major speech as flagbearer on February 7, 2024, Bawumia said, "I am like a driver’s mate" as he urged the electorate to vote for him as president.

"If, by the grace of God, you make me President, I will be in the driver's seat with constitutionally mandated authority to pursue my vision and my priorities."

He added: "My vision is to create a tent big enough to accommodate all our people, to tap into the resourcefulness and talents of our people irrespective of our different ethnic, political and religious backgrounds, to channel our energies into building the kind of country that assures a food self-sufficient, safe, prosperous, and dignified future for all Ghanaians, to create sustainable jobs with meaningful pay for all, and for Ghana to participate fully in the fourth industrial revolution using systems and data."

Choosing a running mate

The NPP's constitution usually requires the vice presidential candidate to be chosen one year before elections. However, the party's National Council, vested with the authority to make exceptions to party rules, in December 2023 approved Dr. Bawumia's request to defer the selection of his running mate.

As the election date approaches, speculations about potential running mates have spread. Despite the circulating names, Nana Akomea, a prominent member of Bawumia's team, remains firm in asserting that he has not yet decided on his running mate.

Dr. Bawumia has not made any intellectual impact on Ghanaians - Issaka Amon Kotei#CriticalIssues pic.twitter.com/YuPzOtJjOr

— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) February 17, 2024