Ransford Edward Van Gyampo, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Ghana, has said that the Vice President and flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, should apologise to the family of the late Vice President Amissah Arthur.
He says for bastardising the former late Vice President and coming on to bequeath a worse economy occupying same position as Amissah-Arthur, Prof. Gyampo says he deserves an apology from Dr. Bawumia.
Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur served as Vice President between 2012 and 2016 under former President and flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama.
During Amissah-Arthur’s tenure, the current Vice President and flag bearer of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, gave series of lectures and made comments to suggest how important the Office of the Vice President is.
He posed some 170 questions to the late Vice President which he failed to answer, and he Bawumia, has not been able to answer those questions after becoming Vice President and confronted with same challenges he sought to question the late Vice President on.
But according to Prof. Gyampo, if Dr. Bawumia is convinced that one does not wield the absolute power to implement things on his own as President, the best he could have done after getting the opportunity was to apologise to the family of the former Vice President for bastardising him the way he did.
Prof. Gyampo says Dr. Bawumia cannot chastise Amissah-Arthur and say he is just a Vice President whose role as head of the Economic Management Team (EMT) is only advisory when the pendulum shifted to his direction.
Speaking on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, August 31, 2024, Prof. Gyampo stated that “before the introduction of e-levy, he (Bawumia) openly said he didn’t like it and if he said he didn’t like it and he was No. 2, why did his dislike not reflect in the policy?”
“It tells you that you may be a Vice President but there is an extent to which your voice could go and so in that regard, the then Amissah-Arthur who was heading the EMT that could only advise was hunted severely, hardly and harshly and so if you did that, and then you got to realise that your role could only be advisory, what should you do to those of us who can discern? He should have apologised first when you have that opportunity,” he stated.
“He asked Amissah Arthur several questions. Bawumia should have first apologised to the family of Amissah-Arthur for the way he was hounded severely and harshly. Dr Bawumia created the impression that as Vice he can do so much,” he reemphasised.
