Dr. Kwasi Amakye Boateng, a Political Science lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has advised Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia not to consider the Member of Parliament for Suame constituency, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, as his running mate in the 2024 elections.

Dr. Boateng argues that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) needs a candidate who can garner support from the Ashanti region, and he believes that Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu falls short in that regard due to his perceived lack of popularity and dissatisfaction among his constituents.

"Majority leader is an institution in himself; as an individual, he is an institution. When it comes to national issues, he is a walking encyclopedia.

“I admire him; he is very knowledgeable and articulates issues well. However, his shortcomings are that he is not popular in the Ashanti region.

“He comes across as someone who is selfish after serving as a government appointee. That is why his constituents threw things at him; they are not satisfied with him. People are angry with him in his constituency. He will not help Dr. Bawumia at all," Dr. Boateng stated in an interview on Akoma FM on December 7,2023.

He added: "He is not popular at all. If I am supposed to grade him on a scale of 1-10, I will give him 0.5. He should not be considered," Dr. Boateng asserted.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has handed over the leadership of the NPP to Bawumia after a 16-year tenure.

Akufo-Addo has held the position of the party's leader since 2007. As per the NPP's constitution, Dr. Bawumia, following his victory in the presidential primaries, assumes the role of the new leader of the party.

He is yet to appoint his running mate ahead of the 2024 elections.