Allies of former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia have issued a sharp rebuttal to Kennedy Agyapong, accusing the former presidential hopeful of spreading misinformation and launching unwarranted attacks on the party’s grassroots supporters.
Their response follows Agyapong’s recent speech in Mampong, during which he criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s direction and blamed Bawumia’s religious identity for the party’s electoral defeat in 2024.
Reacting to the remarks, members of the Bawumia camp described Agyapong’s statements as divisive, inconsistent, and offensive to the very people he seeks to represent.
“Ken Agyapong has described NPP members as fools. He’s questioned why poor people in the party should speak. And now, he wants to be leader of the same people he insults? How does that make sense?” the group fired.
Agyapong’s claim that the NPP’s loss stemmed from selecting a Muslim as flagbearer was strongly rejected by Bawumia supporters, who condemned it as both discriminatory and factually inaccurate.
“Was it because of religion that over 50 Christian NPP parliamentary candidates—some of them pastors—also lost their seats? Was it religion that led to Kufuor’s loss in 1996, or Akufo-Addo’s defeats in 2008 and 2012? The claim is absurd.”
They further pointed out that Bawumia’s decisive victories in both the Super Delegates Conference and the party’s national presidential primary reflected widespread support among NPP delegates, many of whom are Christians.
“If the party didn’t want a Muslim leader, how did Bawumia beat nine Christian aspirants in the first round, and five in the final primary? Or are NPP delegates suddenly all Muslims?”
The team also challenged Agyapong’s account of former President John Agyekum Kufuor’s political rise, dismissing his assertion that Kufuor was given a second chance because of a limited campaign period in 1996.
“This is false. Kufuor was elected flagbearer in April 1996, giving him eight months to campaign. If short campaigns earned second chances, then Adu Boahen, who had just two months to campaign in 1992, would have been re-elected.”
Agyapong, they added, appeared to be contradicting himself throughout his speech.
“First, he says we lost because Bawumia is Muslim. Then he says we lost because Akufo-Addo didn’t appoint enough party faithful. Which is it? Ken must decide what story he wants to tell.”
While Agyapong has recently called for party unity, Bawumia supporters argue that his rhetoric undermines such appeals.
“You can’t call people fools, silence the poor, and then turn around to preach unity. If this is who Ken Agyapong really is, then Mampong exposed more than just a speech—it revealed a troubling mindset,” they stated.
The exchange marks yet another flare-up within the NPP, as internal debates over leadership and strategy continue in the wake of the party’s 2024 defeat.
