Former Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has cautioned party members and supporters against injecting religious and tribal sentiments into internal discourse, describing such tactics as divisive and dangerous.
Addressing the NPP Constituency Chairmen Caucus Conference in the Ashanti Region on Saturday, June 21, 2025, the 2024 Presidential Candidate of the party urged members to uphold the party’s long-standing tradition of unity and inclusiveness.
“It is very, very important that we don’t allow people to come in with explanations that are not factual, that are made up, and that divide our party,” he said.
Dr Bawumia emphasised that the NPP is a united political force composed of people from all ethnic and religious backgrounds and warned against political opportunism that seeks to exploit religion and tribe.
“We are a united party, encompassing people from all ethnic groups, all religions. We are part of the elephant family. We must not allow people, for the sake of political advantage, to tear us apart as a party. I am saying this because people are going religious and tribal. That is dangerous for the NPP and very dangerous for us,” he cautioned.
Dr Bawumia cited findings from the Oquaye Committee Report, which, according to him, confirmed that religion and tribe were not determining factors in the 2024 general elections.
“My 4.7 million votes, was it only Muslims who voted for me? It’s not possible. They were all different voters. When President Kufuor lost, did we say it was religion? When Nana Akufo-Addo lost, did we say it was religion? That is not a factor. People want to make it a factor for political reasons,” he stressed.
He added that if religion were genuinely a barrier within the party, he would not have contested the flagbearership in the first place.
“If that was the case, I wouldn’t have contested at all. I would have stepped aside because I’m not a selfish person. I value the party. I will not jeopardise the ability of the party to win the 2028 election. It’s too important. I would have stepped aside,” Dr Bawumia said.
His remarks follow recent comments made by the Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso, Dr Stephen Amoah, in which he reportedly claimed that Christians can never vote for a Muslim to become President of Ghana.
JKB/EB
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