The Director of Campaign Communications for Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has refuted claims that President Akufo-Addo has forced his government appointees to support the Vice President in the upcoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential primaries.
Nana Akomea in an interview on JoyNews’ PM Express said his support for Dr Bawumia was not influenced by any coercive measures neither was that of his colleagues.
According to him, Dr Bawumia’s charisma and brand are enough to gain him admiration and support among his party members.
“Being Vice President does not automatically get you the President’s support. I am an appointee of the President, I support Bawumia and I’ve told you why.
“When we go the campaign I see a lot of government appointees like myself and I’m happy. I am happy that these people are also on the campaign. I do not think any of them are supporting Dr Bawumia because the President instructed them to do so,” he said on Wednesday.
Addressing the topic further, the former Employment Minister questioned the idea that anyone could be coerced to support a particular candidate within the party.
“Can I be coerced?” he rhetorically asked, highlighting the individual agency of party members in making their electoral choices.
“And I can’t imagine any of these stalwarts supporting and following Bawumia being coerced to support him,” he said.
Nana Akomea further highlighted the statement from President Akufo-Addo himself, categorically stating that he does not endorse any particular candidate.
He stressed that the statement from the President underlines the neutrality of his position in the internal party contest.
On the back of this, Nana Akomea asserted that unless presented with concrete evidence to the contrary, claims of coercion should be dismissed as mere speculations.
Dr Bawumia is one of 10 aspirants in the New Patriotic Party’s presidential primaries. The aspirants hoping to lead the party to the 2024 general elections will go through a special delegates conference this weekend.
The conference is aimed at trimming down the number of aspirants from 10 to five prior to the national conference expected to be held in November.
The special delegate conference will come off on Saturday, August 26.