Bawumia’s selection of NAPO as running mate purely tribalistic – Baba Jamal

Former Member of Parliament for Akwatia, Baba Jamal, has challenged assertions that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s proposal of Energy Minister Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh as his running mate was done based on the Manhyia MP’s competence and not because he is Ashanti.

Baba Jamal said the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer’s choice was purely based on the fact that the Energy Minister is an Ashanti from Manhyia.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV, Baba Jamal said there has been pressure on Bawumia to select someone from the NPP’s powerhouse, which is the Ashanti region and he decided to settle on Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh because he is at the centre of Ashanti politics and not based on his competence.

“It was always pick an Ashanti, pick an Ashanti and if you look at it very well, NAPO is the one close to Manhyia and also, NAPO has always been scoring over 80 percent in all the elections that he has contested. More so, he is the closest to Manhyia when it comes to Ashanti politics.

“It is not about competence but about selecting an Ashanti and so we in the NDC are not surprised at all because when you talk about competence, there is no outstanding achievement in his constituency not to talk about his time at the Ministry of Education.”

He further told the host, Selorm Adonoo that Bawumia needed the Energy Minister to complement his bid because his acceptability in the NPP is still largely in doubt considering is not a career politician.

“Bawumia couldn’t have bypassed NAPO because his acceptability in the party was in doubt and he needed a full party man to compliment him and he saw that in NAPO and it coincided with NAPO coming from Manhyia and so it was a good choice for him and so we did not expect him to go beyond NAPO. I even expected NAPO to be announced a year ago and so it has even been delayed.”