Former Vice President and 2024 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is making a bold case for his comeback, telling party delegates in the Ashanti Region that sticking with him is the surest way back to power.
Speaking to a gathering of party executives on Wednesday, Bawumia urged the NPP to avoid the political reset button and instead double down on consistency—arguing that Ghana’s electoral history rewards persistence, not fresh faces.
“If we want to return to Jubilee House in 2029, we must understand what the data is telling us,” Bawumia said. “No first-time presidential candidate has ever won in this country—not once since the Fourth Republic began.”
He backed his argument with examples: John Agyekum Kufuor lost in 1996, won in 2000. John Atta Mills lost twice before finally winning in 2008. Nana Akufo-Addo lost two times before securing victory in 2016. Even John Mahama, after back-to-back defeats in 2016 and 2020, came back to win in 2024.
“This is not just a coincidence,” Bawumia insisted. “It’s a pattern. And if the pattern holds, President Mahama—like his predecessors—will hand over to someone he’s faced before. That person is me.”
The message is clear: Bawumia believes he’s the most prepared, most visible, and most viable candidate the NPP has. And he wants the party to resist any temptation to start over with a new face in the next election cycle.
“My name is known in every corner of Ghana,” he said. “My character, my temperament, my ability to unite the party—these are not things you have to guess about. Ghanaians know me. They’ve seen me. We’ve invested in this brand already.”
The Ashanti Region stop is part of a three-day tour to rally support ahead of the NPP’s next flagbearer contest, set for January 31, 2026. While Bawumia hasn’t officially launched his 2028 bid, his team is laying the groundwork, meeting with constituency executives and preparing to engage delegates at the grassroots.
Party insiders say Bawumia is trying to build momentum early, especially after the disappointment of the 2024 elections, where the NPP lost power to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and John Mahama.
Still, the former Vice President remains confident. “If we stay united and stay the course, we can—and will—win in 2028,” he told the crowd. “But it starts with making the smart choice now. Let’s not break what we’ve already built.”
The subtext? Bawumia isn’t just asking for another chance—he’s demanding the party recognize that in a political climate driven by familiarity, name recognition, and long-term strategy, he’s still their best shot.
