Kwasi Kwarteng, a member of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Communications Team, has urged the party’s 2024 flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, to demonstrate leadership by accepting responsibility for the NPP’s electoral loss instead of revisiting the factors that contributed to the defeat.
Speaking exclusively to GHOne News monitored by Kumasimail, Kwarteng emphasized that genuine party unity requires accountability rather than blame-shifting.
“My expectation was that the former Vice President would boldly lead the party in acknowledging our collective role in this humiliating defeat,” he stated.
“If Dr. Bawumia is leading this ‘thank you tour,’ it’s only fair he steps up to take responsibility for the missteps that caused our loss. We must learn from these lessons and move forward.”
Kwarteng criticized the focus on rehashing post-mortem findings, arguing that the causes of the NPP’s defeat are already well-documented.
“We don’t need to re-echo what went wrong. What we need now is for leadership to own the outcome and chart a new path,” he asserted.
He expressed concern that revisiting the defeat’s causes during the gratitude tour risks reigniting internal divisions rather than fostering reconciliation.
He said “It’s a thank-you tour, and indeed we expect gratitude to the people. But to come and rehash these issues repeatedly-I’m sure that’s the reason we’re facing this back-and-forth”.
Kwarteng added “I really think we have moved past the stage of repeating what made us lose this election. Of course, when you give politicians a platform, they are likely to whitewash their actions, but for me, that is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that Dr. Bawumia should be the one to lead the charge in taking collective responsibility”.
The NPP communicator specifically cited Dr. Bawumia’s recent remarks about fuel price hikes days before the election as counterproductive.
“When a leader suggests he wasn’t aware of critical decisions, it fuels speculation that he’s deflecting blame. True leadership demands owning every outcome, good or bad,” Kwarteng added.
When pressed on whether Dr. Bawumia had failed to demonstrate collective responsibility, Kwarteng responded “If you analyze his commentary closely, it’s evident he needs to do more. Leadership isn’t about whitewashing individual roles but about accountability. The buck stops with him as the former flagbearer who is leading the Thank You Tour”.
Source :www.kumasimail.com /Kwadwo Owusu
