Posted: Daily Guide |Tuesday, 24 August 2010
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has issued a stern warning to those putting unnecessary pressure on the party and its presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to name a running mate.
The party says it takes a strong position against those who seek to champion one candidate or the other through media lobbying since, according to the National Chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, “The decision will not be made on the basis of organised lobbying.”
This was contained in statement issued and signed by the party chairman in Accra yesterday.
He has therefore advised individuals and group of persons who are championing the cause of certain potential candidates to desist from doing so and rather focus on the real work they have to do on the ground to win both the presidential and parliamentary elections.
He noted the party’s presidential candidate intends to follow tradition and would choose his running mate at the final phase of the party’s campaign, saying “this is what we have traditionally done, and this is what we will do this time.”
Article 12(B) of the NPP’s Constitution states that "the party’s presidential candidate shall, in consultation with the National Council, nominate the vice presidential candidate."
Barely a week ago, a leading member of the NPP and Ghana’s immediate past Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, asked the party to maintain its vice presidential candidate in the 2008 elections, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, for the 2012 polls.
He believes the 47-year-old former deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana is the most suitable person for the job since he has virtually all the qualities of a good leader and is already marketed to Ghanaians.
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe gave reasons the NPP should choose Dr Bawumia to partner Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2012 elections.
The former diplomat, who was part of Nana Addo’s campaign team, gave a chronology of the trend often used in choosing a running mate for the NPP.
In that regard, he said, “We need someone who shares in the ideals of the party and also blends easily with the flagbearer”, noting “Bawumia has shown beyond reasonable doubt that he has more than what it takes to be a running mate.”
He also argued that the two have worked together before, are compatible and understand each other’s philosophy.
Dr Nyaho Tamakloe, who is also a founding member of the NPP, stressed the belief that many others in the NPP shared that sentiment, emphasizing that “at this point in time, only a south-north ticket will be best for the party.”
He however admitted that the tradition of going in for a southerner to pair a northerner or vice versa is not sacrosanct and bound to change anytime.
“If in the near future, those from the other blocks within the party are able to provide a fitting personality who can win the day for us notwithstanding where he or she is coming from, why not, I will give that idea my support. But as things stand now, it is the northern block all the way,” he said.
“I might be wrong but I believe strongly, the right choice for Nana Addo again is Bawunmia. He is the right material for this post.
This is a man with no inordinate ambition, hardworking and skillful. Nana Addo knows what he wants but if asked to pick for him, I would go in for Bawunmia,” he underscored.