A former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has expressed doubts about Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s emotional attachment to the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to him, many prominent figures within the party, including former President John Agyekum Kufuor, initially opposed the selection of Dr Bawumia—who was not a party member at the time—as the running mate to then-candidate Nana Akufo-Addo.
“Dr Bawumia is a very nice person but I don’t see him as a person who has emotional attachment with the NPP,” he said in an exclusive interview on JoyNews.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng stated that while Dr Bawumia has been celebrated as an economic “whizz-kid,” he has not lived up to the economic expectations of many Ghanaians.
He not that he did not mind the selection of Dr Bawumia as running mate to candidate Akufo-Addo “but those expectations have not been fulfilled.”
Prof Frimpong-Boateng also criticised the process leading to Dr Bawumia’s selection as the NPP’s flagbearer, alleging that delegates were pressured and manipulated.
“When it came to choosing a successor to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the party and the government did a few things with the delegates.
“Delegates who were weak, had their arms twisted, those who were fearful were intimidated and those who were corrupt, were bribed to vote for Dr Bawumia,” he asserted.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng also lamented the current state of the NPP, describing it as disunited and fragmented—a stark contrast to the party he once knew and was proud to be part of.
He revealed that he no longer feels connected to the NPP, especially after four party members implicated in his report for environmental violations initiated legal actions against him.
The former minister stressed that the NPP he once admired upheld principles such as the rule of law and the separation of powers—values he believes are no longer evident in the party’s current leadership.