You're a 'spare driver' enshrined in the constitution, not a mate — Edudzi Tamakloe to Bawumia

The Head of Legal Affairs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Lawyer Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, has dismissed the mere description of Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's role as a driver's mate.

Tamakloe asserted that the constitutional role of the Vice President can likened to a co-driver or spare driver.

During a discussion on TV3's Big Issues monitored by ModernGhana News, Lawyer Edudzi Tameklo argued that the Vice President's responsibilities go beyond a driver's mate.

He referenced instances where Dr. Bawumia, in the absence of the President, took on presidential duties, such as setting up the Emile Short Commission after the Ayawaso West Wuogon shooting incident.

"He is not a driver’s mate; he is like what we call a co-driver or a spare driver.

“STC where Nana Akomea is the Managing Director, when going on a long journey has 2 drivers.

“One takes it for about 6 hours, the other driver will take over. That driver is not the driver’s mate. He is a co-driver," Tameklo explained.

He continued, "And the record will show in Ghana that when Akufo Addo traveled after the Ayawaso case, thus the shooting incident, it was Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia acting as the President, who set up the Emile Short Commission. Mates don’t do that; it is the spare driver or a co-driver that will do that."

He emphasized that the framers of Ghana's 1992 constitution envisioned the Vice President as someone who would act in the absence of the President, highlighting the importance of the Vice President's role in assuming presidential duties when necessary.

Lawyer Edudzi Tamekloe also accused Vice President Bawumia of mismanaging the economy, asserting that he has "destroyed" the economy assigned to him as the head of the Economic Management Team (EMT).

He contended that Bawumia's attempts to shift blame for economic challenges is dead on arrival.

"All because the economy that was given to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to manage, he has destroyed it. There is no economy today. This country is bankrupt," Tameklo claimed, adding that it was too late for Bawumia to distance himself from the economic challenges.