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Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker, has joined the chorus of people urging the selection of an Ashanti-born candidate as Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s running mate.
This comes after a fierce rivalry among certain MPs from the New Patriotic Party over who will partner with Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the newly elected flagbearer.
The names that have surfaced thus far are Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh; Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Minister of Energy; Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker; and Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education.
In an interview with Evans Mensah of JoyNews, Mr. Osei-Owusu reaffirmed that it is customary for the newly elected party’s flagbearer to select their running mate from the Ashanti region.
The Bekwai MP, who is also expected to be the running mate, claims that this is the only way to ensure that the party wins the general election in 2024.
“If Bawumia wins, the party’s consensus is that his running mate should be from the Ashanti region,” he stated.
In response to a question about his approval to the arrangement, Dr. Bawumia said, “I think so.”
In order to match the incoming leader’s beliefs, the First Deputy Speaker stated that he thinks the ideal candidate should possess honesty and be a respected individual both inside and outside the party.
Even if the contenders who have been floated thus far fit the requirements, he asserts that “there aren’t the only group of people who are eligible to be nominated and I think that the field is wide.”
When asked why, despite rumors that he is a contender, he is withdrawing from consideration, he replied, “I think that we should allow the man the space to look at the whole game board and select.”
“I agree that the candidate should be from the Ashanti region because choosing someone from there would be very beneficial to the dynamics of our party,” he stated.
He clarified that “the people in the region would have confidence that the party values their immense contribution to the party” if an Ashanti-based candidate was chosen.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
