Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, 2024 presidential candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said he would not have sought another opportunity to lead the party if the Professor Mike Ocquaye committee report had linked the NPP’s electoral defeat to his tribe or religion.
In a 3news.com report on September 14, 2025, the former Vice President disclosed that before the report was released, he told former President Nana Akufo-Addo that he was ready to step aside to protect the party’s political fortunes.
“I told Akufo-Addo that if the findings of the Ocquaye report indicate that because I’m a Muslim or because I’m a Mamprusi-Kusasi we lost the election, I will step down and not contest anymore. I will not choose my interest over the party’s interest,” Dr Bawumia stated.
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He stressed that he would not allow personal ambition to override the party’s collective interest, adding that he was prepared to sacrifice any future bid to lead the party if it threatened its electoral chances.
However, he noted that the Ocquaye report, alongside findings from the Ashanti report and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, concluded that neither religion nor ethnicity played a role in the NPP’s 2024 defeat.
In 2025, the NPP commissioned Professor Mike Ocquaye to lead a 12-member committee to investigate the party’s electoral loss.
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The resulting post-election report, which the party has declared confidential, was intended to guide reforms and preparations ahead of the 2028 general elections.
MRA/MA
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