Kumasi: Chairman Akwasi Nti Asamoah, former Fomena Constituency Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and a known ally of Ken Agyapong, has issued a stark warning to the party's flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, against replacing Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NAPO) as his running mate for the 2028 general elections.
According to Ghana Web, Akwasi Nti Asamoah insists that Bawumia must retain NAPO, the same running mate he had in the 2024 election, referencing the example of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who consistently kept Dr. Bawumia as his deputy despite multiple unsuccessful bids. Asamoah argues, "Bawumia cannot change NAPO because he is the right candidate. Akufo-Addo contested with him as running mate three times, and they eventually won. Now, Bawumia has also been marketed and is going again, so NAPO is the best candidate to run with him. It can never change, over our dead bodies. How can he be changed? It can never happen," he declared in a fiery interview on Angel TV.
He emphasized that while no individual is perfect, NAPO has acknowledged his shortcomings and actively worked on them, making him the ideal running mate for Bawumia. Asamoah also attributed the party's defeat in the 2024 general elections to voter anger rather than any failure on NAPO's part, stating that NAPO remains the best person to partner Bawumia for the presidency.
In the previous election, Dr. Bawumia partnered with Dr. Opoku Prempeh but lost to President John Dramani Mahama and Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang. Although Dr. Bawumia has since been re-elected as the NPP flagbearer, he has not yet announced his running mate for the upcoming election. Anti Asamoah insists that this decision must favor NAPO.