"If Ocquaye report did not blame Bawumia or Napo for 2024 defeat, why change Napo" - Philip Osei Bonsu

Calls to replace Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NAPO) as Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s running mate for the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2028 ticket have been questioned by Philip Osei Bonsu, host of Asempa FM’s political talk show Ekosiisen.

Mr. Osei Bonsu argued that the party’s post-election review, led by Prof. Mike Ocquaye, cleared the Bawumia–NAPO ticket of responsibility for the party’s 2024 electoral defeat.

“If the Ocquaye Committee did not indict Dr. Bawumia or Dr. Prempeh for the loss, then on what basis are people demanding a change?” he asked.

“You cannot ignore your own official findings and replace them with speculation and personal ambition.”

The Ocquaye Report highlighted structural challenges, governance fatigue, messaging gaps, and broader political dynamics, but made no recommendation to alter the presidential ticket.

For Osei Bonsu and other party insiders, recent calls to replace NAPO appear disconnected from facts and driven more by lobbying than reasoned analysis.

Scapegoating individuals cleared by the official report, Osei Bonsu warned, risks repeating past mistakes.

"We cannot be a party that commissions reports only to discard their findings when they don’t suit certain interests,” he said.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1843eQmCaE/

At the grassroots level, supporters argue that changing a running mate not blamed for defeat would signal a reversal of the party’s own findings.

“You don’t fix what the doctor says is not broken,” one constituency executive remarked.

Backers of the Bawumia–NAPO ticket emphasize that the Ocquaye Report was intended to guide internal reforms, not fuel internal contestation.

They caution that reopening the running mate debate could divert attention from party reorganization, voter engagement, and messaging ahead of 2028.

For Philip Osei Bonsu, the matter is one of discipline and consistency.

"If we say we believe in institutions, then we must respect their conclusions. The report did not blame the ticket. So why are we trying to change one half of it?”

As the NPP looks toward 2028, party insiders say the message is becoming clear: continuity, not change, is the most defensible course if both Bawumia and NAPO were absolved by the Ocquaye Report.

Story by: Think News Desk