NPP doesn’t choose leaders based on tribe- Bawumia
Flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has refuted claims that the party selects its leaders based on tribal or ethnic considerations, insisting that the NPP’s political tradition has always transcended tribal lines.
Speaking during a campaign stop at Lapaz in Accra on Thursday, October 3, as part of his tour of the Greater Accra Region, Dr. Bawumia rejected what he described as “tribal propaganda” being pushed in the lead-up to the party’s January 31, 2026, presidential primaries.
“For this tribal propaganda, I want to make it clear that we don’t vote on tribal lines. It is not part of our tradition,” he said.
Dr. Bawumia traced the ideological roots of the NPP to the formation of the United Party (UP) in 1957, following the enactment of the Avoidance of Discrimination Act under then-President Kwame Nkrumah. The Act banned political parties based on ethnic, regional, or religious identities, leading to the merger of several parties into the UP.
He highlighted that despite the Northern People’s Party (NPP), led by S.D. Dombo winning the most seats (13) in Parliament at the time, leadership of the UP was given to Dr. K.A. Busia, whose Ghana Congress Party had only one seat.
“Normally, Dombo should have been the leader of the UP, but the Northern People’s Party agreed for Busia to lead because they saw him as the one who could help UP attain political power,” Dr. Bawumia explained.
He said this historical example shows that the NPP tradition values competence and unity over tribal affiliations.
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