Following the ‘anti-Muslim’ comments made by the NPP Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso and a lead campaigner for Kennedy Agyapong, Dr. Stephen Amoah, Former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia addressing the NPP Constituency Chairman Caucus in Kumasi over the weekend, called on party members to reject attempts to divide the party by exploiting religious or ethnic sentiments for political gain.
He condemned efforts by some within the NPP to exploit tribal and religious sentiments in the 2028 flagbearership race, calling the move a serious threat to party cohesion and national harmony.
“We are a united party encompassing people from all ethnic groups, all religions, and we are all part of the elephant family. It is therefore very important that we do not allow people, for the sake of political advantage, to bring us apart as a party,” Dr. Bawumia said.
“I’m saying this because recently people are going religious and tribal. That’s dangerous for the New Patriotic Party. Very dangerous for us if you go in that direction.”
Bawumia Rejects Use of Religion and Tribe in NPP Politics
Dr. Bawumia dismissed the MP’s arguments as groundless, referencing findings from the committee led by Prof. Mike Oquaye on the party’s 2024 defeat.
“What is clear, and is stated in black and white in the Oquaye report, as well as all the other surveys, is that religion and tribe were not factors in the 2024 election. So we should not try to create and say that Christians would not vote for Bawumia. My 4.7 million votes—were they all Muslims who voted for me? It is not possible. All voted for me.”
He further questioned the reasoning behind such claims by citing examples of past presidential candidates who initially lost elections but later achieved victory. “When Kufuor lost, did we say religion? When Mills lost, did we say religion? When Nana Akufo-Addo lost, did we say religion? That is not a factor, but people want to make it a factor for political reasons.”
Dr. Bawumia emphasized that if he genuinely believed religion was a barrier to his candidacy, he would have stepped aside. “If that was the case, I wouldn’t have contested at all. I would have stepped aside if that is the case, because I’m not a selfish person. I value the party. I would not jeopardize the ability of the party to win the 2028 election.”
He cautioned that leveraging religious and ethnic divisions for political gain could undermine the core values of the NPP. “People are trying to do that for their own political advantage and it is really dangerous for our party.”
