The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) running mate for the 2024 elections will come from the Ashanti Region, according to First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Joe Osei Owusu, also known as Joe Wise.
He said that the party had decided to choose Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia‘s partner from within the party’s stronghold.
In an interview with Evans Mensah of Joy News, Mr. Osei-Owusu reaffirmed that it is customary for the newly elected party’s flagbearer to select their running mate from the Ashanti region.
The Bekwai MP, who is also expected to be the running mate, asserts that this is the only way to ensure the party’s victory in the general election of 2024.
“It is generally agreed in the party that if Bawumia wins, his running mate should come from the Ashanti region,” he said.
“I think so,” was Dr. Bawumia’s response when asked if he had given his consent to that agreement.
In order to complement the new leader’s values, the First Deputy Speaker stated that he thinks the ideal candidate should possess integrity and be a respected individual both inside and outside the party.
He claims that even though the applicants who have already been mentioned as vying for the job meet the requirements,“they aren’t the only group of people who are eligible to be nominated and I think that the field is wide.”
When asked why, despite being mentioned as a potential candidate, he is withdrawing from consideration, he replied: “I think that we should allow the man the space to look at the whole game board and select.”
“I agree that the person must come from the Ashanti region because, in our party’s dynamics, it would help a lot to select from the Ashanti region,” First Deputy Speaker said.
Thus far, the Ashanti Region has produced the following names: Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh; Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Minister of Energy; Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker; and Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education.
