Former Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu says the attempt to solely blame Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s 2024 flag bearer for the party’s defeat in the election, is not accurate.
He believes that although the former Vice President was a key part of the previous administration, the absolute executive authority lay with the President.
“Even though the Vice President and the President don’t share resp onsibility, the presidency encapsulates the two, so you cannot extricate yourself, especially when you sit in cabinet meetings,” he said on Channel One TV on Monday, October 6, 2025.
He, however, indicated Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia cannot be entirely absolved of the blames especially when he headed the Economic Management Team (EMT) of the administration.
“That is a reality. But nobody should forget that executive authority is vested in one person. That is not to extricate Dr. Bawumia from every blame. The Economic Management Team he headed, their role was only advisory,” he stated.
The former Member of Parliament for Suame explained that recommendations of the EMT could not be imposed on the President, making the powers of the Vice President somehow hanging.
“Do they force their observations on the President? I’m saying that in the situation, you can’t whitewash Dr. Bawumia and extricate him from any of the things that people considered not good — the policies and programmes people think were not very good. You cannot extricate him completely.”
His comments come amid renewed debate within the NPP over the causes of the party’s 2024 electoral defeat and the extent of Dr. Bawumia’s responsibility as head of the Economic Management Team.
