Former Interior Minister, Alhaji Malik Alhassan Yakubu, has dispelled claims that the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, may have difficulty garnering votes in traditional Akan areas.
Dr. Bawumia is the NPP’s first flagbearer from the Northern Region of the country, raising questions about his ability to win over voters in the south.
In an interview with Citi News, the former Yendi legislator argued that the Vice President’s performance in areas such as the Ashanti Region shows that he has what it takes to amass votes and lead the party to victory in 2024.
“If you look at the totality of the voting pattern in the election that led to his selection a couple of days ago, you will find that it cuts across the country. If you carefully study the ground, even though Ashanti is a major stronghold of the NPP, take Afriyie Akoto, whose father, Baffour Akoto, was a pillar of the UP tradition, and Addai-Nimoh, who is a full-blooded Ashanti, Bawumia did exceptionally well in that region.”
“So this should reassure anyone that there should be no fears at all about the fact that Bawumia will garner a lot of votes from the areas that are considered typical Akan, and that they may be against someone who is non-Akan. So I have no doubt about that. He will amass a lot of votes in the Akan areas and supplement them with votes from other areas. We have no doubts about his success,” he stated.
