Bawumia lacks leadership qualities; Akufo-Addo never blamed Kufuor for 2008 NPP defeat — Hamza Suhuyini

A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) communication team, Hamza Suhuyini, has accused former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia of lacking leadership qualities, following his recent comments on the causes of the New Patriotic Party’s defeat in the 2024 general election.

According to Hamza, unlike President Akufo-Addo who stood by the legacy of former President John Agyekum Kufuor even after the NPP lost power in 2008, Dr. Bawumia is shifting blame to dissociate himself from President Akufo-Addo’s administration.

“Nana Akufo-Addo never once took a party or national platform to condemn President Kufuor’s policies — not even after he lost the 2008 election. He stood his ground and defended those policies,” Hamza said on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Tuesday, April 29.

“But Bawumia? He’s blaming everyone else for the 2024 defeat. That shows a lack of leadership — and it’s worrying,” he added.

His comment follows Dr. Bawumia’s public reflection on the NPP’s electoral loss, where the former flagbearer cited factors such as economic hardship, poor internal management, unpopular government policies, and arrogance of power as major reasons for the party’s defeat.

Dr. Bawumia specifically blamed the high cost of living, the refusal to reshuffle appointees, the controversial E-Levy, and the implementation of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) under the IMF deal.

But Hamza believes these statements were made out of political convenience and personal ambition, arguing that Dr. Bawumia never challenged these decisions when he was in power.