Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the frontrunner in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearership contest, has accused his rivals of resorting to a smear campaign against him, fueled by their looming defeat.

As the party aims to make history by electing him as the flagbearer and securing a third consecutive presidential term, Dr. Bawumia claims that his opponents have been attacking his character and spreading false information to win over delegates.

The Vice President identified three specific instances of these lies and vehemently refuted them, emphasizing the need to debunk and counteract false claims.

He expressed concern that his rivals are determined to undermine his reputation and sow discord within the party, describing their approach as "if you miss the ball, don't miss the man."

During his tour of the Northern Region, Dr. Bawumia addressed NPP delegates and denied accusations of bribing constituency chairmen with cash and pickup trucks prior to the Super Delegates Conference.

He also refuted allegations that he planned to prevent polling station executives and electoral area coordinators from voting in future presidential primaries and that he aimed to ensure that all sitting NPP Members of Parliament ran unopposed.

“They say I have given all constituency chairmen 275 constituency chairmen, a hundred thousand Ghana Cedis and a pick up. Have you seen any pick up here for your chairman? This is just a ridiculous lie. Then they say I will not allow, in the future, polling station executives and electoral area coordinators to vote in presidential elections. I mean how can this happen? It’s not possible for me to stop polling station executive and electoral area coordinators from voting. This was a National Conference decision. And I was very supportive of expanding the electoral college to allow polling station executives and electoral area coordinators to vote. And by the grace of God they will continue to vote…That lie must be put to rest.

Although Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia did not explicitly mention any names, it appears that his primary rival in the race, Kennedy Agyapong, is the one being targeted. Mr. Agyapong has been vocal in labeling accusations of vote-buying against Dr. Bawumia.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has scheduled November 4, 2023, for the election of a flagbearer for the 2024 Presidential Elections. Dr. Bawumia secured a convincing victory in the Super Delegates Conference election and is widely expected to win the upcoming election.