Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr has advised the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to beat a retreat and not contest for the flagbearership position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to him, the image of the vice president has been dragged in the mud over the past few years as a result of failed promises of the Akufo-Addo-led administration in which he plays a key role.
Speaking on Alhaji and Alhaji on Pan African TV on Saturday, January 15, 2022, the veteran journalist intimated that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign will suffer major setbacks based on his inability to live up to the ‘economic Messiah’ status that he was projected to for the 2016 elections and subsequent elections.
Kwesi Pratt Jnr maintained that Dr. Bawumia’s political career may be truncated should he ignore his advice and proceed to contest and lose the NPP flagbearership race.
“Somebody must spend some effort to rescue the image of the vice president. Somebody who loves the Vice President must get closer and advise him to save himself the embarrassment. Forget about those who sit on television and comment on national situations. Walk into the street, engage the gardeners, the watchmen and raise the name of the Vice President…do you hear what they say about him? If he were my brother I’ll be pained.
“I am pained because he is my Vice President and I think he must be saved for himself because where his image is getting to, it’s worrying. Somebody must advise him, somebody must help him…because it should not happen to anybody, what is happening to the Vice President…it should not happen to anybody even if he himself is a major contributor to that development because some of the things that are being said about him I cannot repeat on air….I cannot…I dare not because they are horrible,” Kwesi Pratt Jnr said.
He continued that, “even if his supporters win…they manage through all the manipulations and so on and make him the candidate for the New Patriotic Party…he would have become the candidate for the New Patriotic Party…how is he going out the to campaign giving the things he told us?”
Citing the current performance of the Cedi against the dollar, Kwesi Pratt Jnr mentioned that it had depreciated in value under the last five years of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia led administration – a situation which will not inure to the veep’s advantage.
He further advised Dr. Bawumia to rescind his decision to contest in the NPP flagbearership race and rather wait on the party to call on him to lead it at a much later time.
“Look at the state of the national currency today… It is now 6.5 I’m told to a dollar when it used to be less than 4 cedis to a dollar some 5 years ago. Is the exchange rate exposing the fundamentals of the economy? Of course, Bawumia says “no”….This is the situation…poor man and sometimes perhaps I tend to think he is innocent. Sometimes I think it is his own naivety that has gotten him into this place. If I were his advisor, the first piece of advice I’ll give him is that quit this race.
“It is not in your interest. Go back home…go and rethink your future. Maybe in the next 8 years, the party will come back to you begging for you to come and lead it….pull back…the avalanche is too strong so pull back,” he stated.
Souvce: Ghanaweb
