Political analyst Emmanuel Nti has expressed his view that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s presentation on his policies and vision for Ghana amounted to betrayal and anti-party behavior.
In response to Bawumia’s outlined policies, Nti argued that the Vice President distanced himself from the problems caused by President Akufo-Addo. He claimed that if an ordinary party member had criticized the government and opposed initiatives like the E-levy, emissions tax, VAT on electricity, and other taxes that the NPP candidate pledged to scrap, they would have faced expulsion from the party.
During an interview on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5 FM, Nti pointed out that individuals like Hopeson Adorye and lawyer Buaben Asomoa were dismissed for anti-party behavior, suggesting that others would have faced similar consequences if they had followed Bawumia’s path.
When asked whether it was fair to blame the Vice President, who primarily played an advisory role and may not have been responsible for the government’s challenges, Nti disagreed.“The president told Ghanaians that Bawumia was experienced and understood the economy better”.
On the flip side, if this is indeed his stance, it suggests a distancing from the President’s decisions and a lack of receptiveness to advice. This implies that the President may not heed counsel.
However, he also suggests another angle to consider: that it might be a deliberate tactic by the party to present Bawumia as faultless to garner votes. This strategy aims to shield Bawumia from any criticism and forms part of a larger political maneuver by the NPP.
“If an NPP communicator can defend E-levy and the whole Vice President opposes it, then there is a problem. These are the realities I am talking about. If any member had made the same remark the Vice President made, that party member would have been sanctioned or sacked from the NPP because what Bawumia said was a betrayal of the party.”
“Even an NPP communicator will defend E-levy and point out reasons why it should not be scrapped. The communicator will defend the E-levy with all their strength. And a whole vice president says he will scrap it. That is pure betrayal of the party. If communicators will defend it, why should the vice president promise to scrap it? So you think Justin Kodua and other officials would not have suspended a party member if they had made these remarks? Hopespn Adorye, Buaben Asamoa, and others were sacked. So why has the party failed to sack Bawumia, just like those they sacked recently?”
The speaker thinks that the recent occurrences could be part of a planned NPP plot to clear Bawumia’s name and present him as a perfect candidate.