Pius Enam Hadzide, an aide to New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful Dr Bryan Acheampong, has jumped to the defence of his boss following his controversial comments.
According to Pius Hadzide, Dr Bryan Acheampong has not made any tribal comments against Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
Speaking on Channel One TV on Monday, August 25, Pius Hadzide stressed, “I would like to put on record that Dr. Bryan Acheampong has not made any tribal comments”.
“He has not asked persons of the party, the leadership of the party, delegates of the party to vote for him based on tribe or religion. He’s not the one who has been making such comments. He cannot be accused of making any tribal comments”, he added.
Meanwhile, Dr Bryan Acheampong, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Abetifi and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful, has said the statement he made, widely regarded as a tribal statement against Dr Mahamaudu Bawumia, was factual.
According to Dr Bryan Acheampong, the statements were facts he was sharing with some NPP party members.
Dr Bryan Acheampng is quoted by GHONE TV to have said, “The so-called tribal statements I made were facts I was sharing with party people”.
The lawmaker in his statement cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor and Akufo-Addo’s getting votes from the Kusasi, but Bawumia’s belonging to one side of the divide led to the NPP losing votes with the Kusasi.
According to Dr Bryan Acheampong, the NPP chose Dr Bawumia, who is a Mamprusi, one of the tribes in the Bawku Conflict caused the NPP to lose its seat in the Oti Region, Upper East, Upper West, and the Northern Region.
Speaking to a gathering, Dr Bryan Acheampong stated, “President Kufuor won all NPP votes in Kusasi, and President Akufo-Addo also did the same thing, but because the fight is between two tribes (Mamprusis and Kusasis) and we elected a flagbearer from one of them, we lost in the Oti Region, Upper East, Upper West, and the Northern Region.
“We lost all our seats because of the candidate we presented (Dr Mahamudu Bawumia), and he could be a victim of circumstance and not his fault, but the timing didn’t favour him”, he added.
However, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has urged his rivals for the NPP 2028 flagbearership to contest him with their visions and ideas.
According to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s 2026 primaries must be on ideas and visions and not on tribal or religious propaganda.
Dr Bawumia, addressing the NPP New York 33rd Anniversary celebration on Sunday, August 24, dismissed attempts to discredit him based on his northern roots or Islamic faith.
He noted that tribal or religious propaganda is dangerous and unworthy of the NPP’s democratic tradition.
Dr Bawumia at the event stated, “If you want to contest me, come with a vision, come with your ideas, come with your track record, come with your integrity and let us decide”.
“The NPP has always been the party that embraces all Ghanaians, regardless of where they come from or what religion they practise. That is our heritage and our strength. If we stay true to this and focus on ideas, we will be well-positioned to win the 2028 elections,” he added.
Also, Kofi Tonto, an aide to Dr Bawumia, has said their campaign will be on policies and solutions, not divisive rhetoric.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Point of View on Monday, August 25, Mr Tonto stated, “We will focus on the message. We will not denigrate any group of people in Ghana. We will focus on the message because Ghana is gradually becoming a nation of one people in terms of even tribes. When you take a Ghanaian, you can get three or four tribes of that Ghanaian. That is the oneness that Ghana is increasingly becoming.
“Let us eschew tribal and religious bigotry. It is irresponsible. It is insensitive. It is not the right thing we must do as a political party,” he stated.