Veteran NPP stalwart Nana Akomea has hit back hard at Kennedy Agyapong’s recent claims that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s religious background cost the New Patriotic Party (NPP) the 2024 general elections.
In a pointed rebuttal, Akomea described the argument as “not tenable” and “a dangerous campaign strategy.”
Kennedy Agyapong, who lost to Bawumia in the party’s presidential primaries, recently alleged that the NPP’s defeat was partly due to Christian voters rejecting a Muslim flagbearer.
But in an interview with Citi News, Nana Akomea found the remarks not only unfounded but potentially divisive.
“Even Mahama, as President, he lost elections in 2016, but nobody said that they lost elections because they were from this religion or that religion,” Akomea said.
“So that impression that Bawumia lost because — or the NPP lost because — the candidate was a Muslim is not even tenable, apart from it being such a dangerous campaign strategy.”
He went further to dismantle Kennedy’s theory by pointing to the NPP’s own presidential primary as proof that religion wasn’t a barrier.
“Look, if the NPP wanted only Christian leaders, how come that last year in the NPP presidential primary, there were nine Christians, and there was one Muslim? Akomea questioned.
“In the two stages of the primary — the super delegates — Bawumia won against nine candidates who were Christians, including Kennedy Agyapong.
“In the main elections, with all the delegates, Bawumia still won against five other candidates who were Christians.
So what is the basis of the belief that Christians in the NPP do not want a Muslim candidate? It doesn’t hold any water at all.”
Kennedy Agyapong had earlier stirred controversy by insisting that the NPP’s tradition doesn’t guarantee second chances to underperforming candidates.
“Let no one be deceived, he said. “Our party has a history of rewarding strong candidates. If you lead us into an election and perform abysmally, you should not expect another chance.”
He argued that Bawumia’s poor showing in the 2024 elections should disqualify him from another run, while also linking the defeat to religious bias within the party’s Christian majority — a claim that has drawn sharp criticism from both party elders and grassroots members.
