The 2024 NPP flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, says the governing NDC is already buckling under the weight of its promises just four months into office.
Addressing members of the Young Executive Forum (YEF) in London during his Thank You Tour, the former Vice President declared that the NDC’s current struggles will only deepen with time, setting the stage for a strong NPP comeback in 2028.
“I think that the NDC in government is being exposed in just five months, and by the time they hit four years, I think you will see a big clamour for the NPP to come back into office,” he said to cheers from the crowd.
Dr Bawumia launched a scathing critique of the Mahama-led administration, accusing it of peddling false hopes while in opposition and failing to deliver in government.
“They told so many lies in opposition. They said that when they come they will bring down the cost of kenkey and the cost of living. I don’t know. Have you noticed the reduction in prices in Ghana? No. Prices are rather going up, whether you are looking at cement or other things. They are not coming down.”
He cited the NDC’s campaign promise to raise the price of a bag of cocoa from ¢3,100 to ¢7,000 as one of the deceptions that have now come back to haunt them.
“The cocoa farmers were very excited and voted for them, but today they are saying that they had wrong information, so they are not going to increase the cocoa price.”
On illegal mining, he said the party had failed woefully to deliver on its promises.
“They said that when they come, galamsey will be stopped. Now they’ve come, and galamsey is rather increasing… The environment is getting more destroyed.”
Teachers, he said, were also deceived.
“They told teachers that once they get into office, the teacher licensure exams… will be abolished. The teachers were very excited, and they voted for them. Today, they are telling them that they won’t touch the licensure exam again.”
He mocked the party’s flagship promise of a 24-hour economy, describing it as a fantasy. “Of course, we all knew it was a joke. They really had big, big billboards, you know, trying to convince Ghanaians that for every job, they were going to have three people doing their job.
“Today, it’s completely missing in their policy. It didn’t appear in their budget… How can you have a 24-hour economy with dumsor at the same time? I mean, you can’t. Dumsor has taken over.”
He said the current challenges, especially the return of power outages, were a confirmation of what the NPP had warned.
“We warned Ghanaians that dumsor and NDC work together… Ghanaians didn’t listen, but we have basically been proven right. Dumsor is pretty bad, and it’s likely to get worse from what we can see.”
Looking ahead to 2028, Dr Bawumia exuded confidence that the NPP would return to power.
“I believe that 2028 NPP is going to come back into government. I believe so. I believe so.”
He argued that history was on his side.
“If you look at our political history, it is usually very difficult for a first-time presidential candidate to win an election in Ghana. I don’t know why that is, but Ghanaians want you to come more than once.”
He cited examples of former presidents Kufuor, Mills, and Akufo-Addo to support his point. “There’s a sense that in 2028, NDC is going to bring a new candidate… I believe we will have a very big advantage.”
Dr Bawumia also touched on the legacy of President Akufo-Addo, saying his administration would be appreciated with time.
“You remember that when Kufuor left office, he wasn’t a very popular president… but today, he is one of the most popular presidents that has come in the history of our country. That is the same way… people will appreciate the work the Nana Akufo-Addo’s government also did for Ghana.”
He added, “I believe that posterity will be kind to Nana Akufo-Addo and the government of the NPP.”
In a moment of reflection and humility, Dr Bawumia acknowledged his party’s failings.
“We did not get everything right. We got quite a few things wrong, and I think that on my own behalf, on behalf of the party and the government, I apologise to all of you for us not getting the things right that we should have gotten.”
But he was clear that the lessons had been learned.
“I believe that if, by the grace of God, we have another opportunity… we will get many things right because we’ve learned the lessons of where we are going.”
Dr Bawumia ended on a note of optimism, rallying his supporters. “We should be very, very enthusiastic. I want to count on all of your support.”
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