Senior Vice President, IMANI-Africa, Kofi Bentil, has defended his endorsement of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as President.
He said the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had a better track record than former President John Dramani Mahama, and should be given “a chance” in the 2024 General Election.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Newsfile on Saturday, Mr Bentil said Dr Bawumia “is not corrupt” and could be trusted to resolve the challenges of the country better than Mr Mahama.
“Every measure you come up with against Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, John Mahama also fails on it. He [Mr Mahama] has been President, he has been Vice President and the track record is there…whether it is corruption, whether it is transformational leadership, whatever it is.”
“And when I look at all of that, I came to the conclusion that we are better off picking Vice President Bawumia and giving him a chance. At the least, we should give him a fair hearing.”
“All of that, put together, forced me to make that endorsement; in the calculation that it is better for this country, even if we are going to make a mistake, let’s make a mistake going forward,” he stated.
Mr Bentil said Dr Bawumia, as Vice President, “did not have the prerogative to make final decisions” under the New Patriotic Party government, but had demonstrated the ability to take his own decisions when made President.
He asked Dr Bawumia not to appoint anyone under the current administration as minister when made the President.
“If he [Dr Bawumia] can build a solid team, not with some of the people who have been part of the mess, I think he has a better chance of solving it, especially because he has intimate knowledge of what went on.”
Mr Bentil said his endorsement of Dr Bawumia was his “personal conviction” and did not represent the views of IMANI-Africa.
“I had the permission of my brothers at IMANI and the IMANI Board…we have our individual choices. IMANI does not endorse candidates; we do what we have to do and we leave things to be,” he said.
Source: GNA