Akufo-Addo to confirm Bawumia as running mate Thursday

Barring any last minute hitch, newly- elected flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will name his run­ning mate Thursday after a meeting with the National Council of the party.

Nana Akufo-Addo told Daily Guide Wednesday that he would be presenting the name of the running mate for the 2016 election to the National Council, the sec­ond highest decision mak­ing body after congress.

During the campaign for the flagbearership, Nana told the party people that if given the chance to lead again, he would want to run with Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on the same tick­et. Mr Kyerematen also suggested going with Dr Bawumia in the event that he was elected flagbearer.

According to sources close to the re-elected flag­bearer, since his election on Saturday, he had been con­sulting elders and party leaders about his choice of running mate, and the arrows seemed to point at Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. Nana Akufo-Addo yes­terday met the steering Committee of party, to which he communicated his desire to name his running mate Thursday.

He assured the national officers of his fullest co­operation ahead of the 2016 general elections. The meeting, which was held at the party headquar­ters at the behest of Nana Akufo-Addo, saw all but two of the party’s officers attending, with the Chair­man of the National Coun­cil of Elders, C.K. Tedam, also in attendance. At the meeting, chaired by National Chairman Paul Afoko, Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that the sole motive for his request was to assure the national offi­cers of his “fullest co-opera­tion, so that the common endeavour of achieving vic­tory in 2016, and producing a good government come January 2017, will be realised.” Nana Akufo-Addo fur­ther assured the executives that “you will find nothing lacking in me as far as co­operation goes. We are to work together to change Ghana and bring about the transformation of our coun­try. So my main purpose here, this morning, is to introduce myself to you, assure you of my fullest co­operation and to let you know that I am ready to play my part in the common agenda of victory in 2016.”