Deputy National Communication Officer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Malik Basintale, has asserted that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia doesn’t need to engage former President John Dramani Mahama in a debate.
According to Basintale, any individual, regardless of their political affiliation or experience, can challenge Bawumia on policy matters.
In an interview on TV3 on August 7, Basintale emphasized that Mahama will not participate in any debate with Bawumia ahead of the 2024 elections.
Instead, Basintale offered to represent Mahama in any such debate, allowing the NDC flagbearer to focus on his national tour and voter outreach efforts.
“He shouldn’t centre the debate around the NDC. The NDC is not the party to bring credibility to a debate. Alhaji Bawumia can debate Cheddar, Alan Kyerematen, Bernard Mornah, Hassan Ayariga. He can debate many people,” Basintale remarked.
He further added, “Anybody can debate Bawumia. An 18-year-old girl in Techiman, a nursing trainee debated him for a minute, and his whole head was filled with sweat.”
This statement comes after Bawumia recently issued a public challenge to Mahama, expressing his eagerness to debate the former president on economic and governance issues. During a rally in Bunkpurugu as part of his campaign tour, Bawumia accused Mahama of avoiding debates that would expose weaknesses in his policies, particularly critiquing the NDC’s economic plans.
“I am looking forward to a debate with John Mahama on the economy, on the country, on the government. But I am afraid that he is running away from a debate. His people say he doesn’t want to debate. But he doesn’t want to debate because he knows I’ll expose the emptiness of his policies,” Bawumia declared.
Despite Bawumia’s challenge, the NDC has remained firm in its stance. Deputy Spokesperson for Mahama’s campaign team, Beatrice Annan, has confirmed that the NDC flagbearer will not participate in any presidential debate organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), reinforcing the party’s position on the matter.