#NPPDecides: Dr. Bawumia, the man who wants to break the 8 for the NPP

Even though the contest is between Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, a Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, a former Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and a former Member of Parliament for Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh, the focus is on the first two.

About 203,439 delegates drawn from various levels of the party across the country would determine the fate of the four contestants.

Ahead of the polls, Dr. Bawumia said he’s the best candidate for the NPP to be able to neutralize the strongholds of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 2024.

Pulse.com.gh profiles Dr. Bawumia, who believes he can break the eight for the NPP.

Dr. Bawumia chairs the Economic Management Team which is broadly responsible for shaping the government’s policies and guiding their implementation.

He is at the forefront of a broad, inclusive development strategy in Ghana involving, among others, the leveraging of digitised government services to transform the delivery of public services and digitalising the economy, with the overall objective of building Ghana’s digital economy.

His efforts have seen the ongoing infusion of technological innovation in every-day Ghanaian life and the rapid growth of the Fintech industry in the country.

Dr. Bawumia holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from Buckingham University, UK; a Master of Science Degree in Development Economics from Oxford University, UK; and a Ph.D. in Economics from Simon Fraser University, Canada.

He has held academic positions as Assistant Professor of Economics,Baylor University, USA; Visiting Scholar, University of British Columbia, Canada; and Visiting Senior Research Associate, Centre for the Study of African Economies, Oxford University, UK.

He has also served as a visiting professor of economic governance at Central University, Ghana.

As an economist and banker, Dr. Bawumia has had a prestigious career, which includes serving as the Deputy Governor of Ghana’s Central Bank from 2006 to 2008 and the Resident Representative of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe in 2011.

He has authored several journal articles and has numerous publications to his credit, including “Monetary Policy and Financial Sector Reform in Africa: Ghana’s Experience”.

Mahamudu Bawumia contested as a running mate to the NPP candidate in the 2008 elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The NPP increased its share of the vote compared to 2004 in all three Northern Regions, in both the first and second rounds.

Bawumia was re-nominated as the vice presidential candidate to Nana Akufo-Addo for the 2012 general elections in March 2012.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia Pulse Ghana

The party won ten (10) seats in the Northern Region, including Yendi, Walewale, Yagaba-Kubore, Bunkpurugu, Bimbilla, Chereponi, Kpandai, Tatale-Sanguli, Tolon, and Zabzugu.

It also won the Nabdam and Talensi constituencies in the Upper East Region. Overall, Nana Akufo-Addo and Bawumia lost the presidential elections to incumbent John Dramani Mahama.

Dr. Bawumia has proven to be the most influential Vice President in Ghana’s history, having championed and led many transformational policies, among many others.

Born into a politically-astute family, Dr. Bawumia's rise in politics has been meteoric, but that should not be a surprise, considering the background of his father, Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, as one of the most iconic political figures to emerge from the northern part of the country.

Dr. Bawumia's father actively participated in politics, right from the grassroots up to the national level. From being the State Secretary to the Mamprusi Native Authority to a seat on the Northern Territories Council, Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia rose through the ranks as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (Parliament), Minister of State, and then the first Chairman of the Council of State in the 4th Republic.

The significant role that Dr. Bawumia's father played in the formation of the Northern People's Party is widely acknowledged. Together with other northern political stalwarts such as S.D. Dombo, Yakubu Tali Tolon Naa, J.A. Braimah Kabachewura, and J.A. Nagba, they became the founders and kingpins of the Northern People's Party, which pushed for the development of the Northern Territory, as the north was then called.

Bawumia and Nana Addo Pulse Ghana

The Northern People's Party, with Dr. Bawumia's father deeply involved, would later join forces with their colleagues in the South to form the formidable United Party (UP), the political tradition of the NPP.

Since his emergence in frontline politics in 2008 (when he was serving the nation as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana), Dr. Bawumia has endeared himself so well, and he is widely acknowledged as one of the most respected and impactful politicians of our time.

It is, therefore, not surprising that he is the only person in the history of the country to be selected as a running mate on four consecutive occasions: 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020, and to emerge as Vice President in the last two presidential elections in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

Surely, Dr. Bawumia has registered so many highs in his political life. However, his starring role as the NPP's lead witness in the 2012 election petition at the Supreme Court is undoubtedly one of his highest points.

Through his stellar performance at the Supreme Court, terms like "Pinksheet" and "You and I were not there" entered the lexicon of Ghanaian politics.

As a four-time running mate, Dr. Bawumia has endeared himself as a reliable partner for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP, campaigning so tirelessly to help win political power for the NPP. And as Vice President, his dedication, loyalty, hard work, and impact are never in doubt.

Indeed, he is widely regarded as the most impactful Vice President Ghana has ever had, having been at the forefront of a number of major government policies.

Dr. Bawumia is a consummate politician who, in political discourse, believes in speaking to issues with data and facts.

Dr. Bawumia, through his data-laden presentations explaining government policies, has carved a niche for himself as a rare politician who does not engage in the toxic politics of insults but instead focuses on issues.

Dr. Bawumia is a politician who relishes the challenge of doing things and implementing policies that have not been done before. He has a passion for making sure the poor and the vulnerable are not excluded from the development process.