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Member of Parliament for Karaga, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, has cautioned that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) could remain in opposition for as long as 12 years if it fails to retain Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as its flagbearer in the party’s upcoming presidential primaries.
Speaking in an interview on Joy News on Wednesday, January 7, Dr Amin Adam argued that the NPP’s own political history shows that candidates given a second opportunity after an initial electoral defeat often go on to win national elections.
He referenced former Presidents John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, both of whom lost their first presidential bids but emerged victorious when the party presented them again.
“We repeated Kufuor and Akufo-Addo for a second time, and they won, so why shouldn’t we repeat Bawumia for the second time?” he asked. “If we put Bawumia forth the first time and he lost, do we want to experiment with another candidate and risk losing against the opposition?”
Dr Amin Adam warned that changing candidates could give the National Democratic Congress (NDC) a strategic advantage, especially if the opposition successfully rallies behind a new flagbearer.
He noted that although former President John Dramani Mahama may not contest again, he is likely to support the NDC’s next candidate with the party’s full resources.
“If we are not careful and engage in experimentation, even when the NDC experiments by bringing a new candidate and they win, we could be in opposition for 12 years,” he said.
According to him, such an outcome could weaken the party significantly over time. “If we make that mistake, we will likely remain in opposition for 12 years, and by the end of 12 years, we will not have a party,” he added.
