Godwin Edudzi Tameklo is the CEO of National Petroleum Authority
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, has argued that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) effectively handed over its internal contest to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia the moment it agreed to conduct its flagbearer elections ahead of other internal party polls.
Speaking on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday, January 3, 2026, Tameklo said the decision was not accidental, but the outcome of a carefully laid plan by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to position Dr Bawumia as the party’s preferred successor.
According to him, the former president ‘craftily’ built the political and organisational infrastructure for Dr Bawumia as far back as 2023, ensuring that the former vice president enjoyed a strategic advantage over all other contenders within the party.
Bawumia leads NPP flagbearer race with 56% support – Poll
“Former President Akufo-Addo is a crafty person. He built that infrastructure for Dr Bawumia in 2023,” Tameklo stated, adding that the sequencing of the party’s internal elections sealed the outcome of the contest long before voting took place.
He explained that once the NPP settled on holding the flagbearer election first, it became clear that the process would favour Dr Bawumia, whom he described as the establishment candidate, with the backing of the party’s existing power structures.
“So, the very moment they agreed to having the flagbearer elections first was the day they surrendered the elections to Bawumia,” he indicated.
The New Patriotic Party is scheduled to elect its flagbearer for the 2028 general elections on January 31, 2026, as the party begins preparations to reclaim power after losing the 2024 polls.
MRA/AE
Meanwhile, watch President John Dramani Mahama’s 2026 full New Year Message below:
