The campaign office of Dr Bryan Acheampong, New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential hopeful, has dismissed allegations that he blamed fellow flagbearer aspirant and former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for the protracted Mamprusi-Kusasi conflict in the north.
In a statement issued on Sunday, August 24, and sighted by Citi News, the campaign described the claims as a deliberate distortion of Dr Acheampong’s remarks. It said social media videos being circulated had been “mischievously pieced together and venomously captioned” to falsely suggest ethnic hostility.
“Dr Acheampong has not, at any point, blamed former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for the Kusasi-Mamprusi conflict,” the statement read. “His comments in the original video clearly stated that Dr Bawumia was a victim of circumstances, not a cause of division.”
The Abetifi MP’s team stressed that he holds deep respect for Dr Bawumia and that his comments were meant to draw attention to broader political strategies affecting the NPP’s performance in northern constituencies.
The rebuttal comes a day after Dr Bawumia openly condemned what he termed “tribal and religious propaganda” being used against him in the lead-up to the party’s 2026 presidential primaries. Addressing party supporters on Saturday, Dr Bawumia warned that such divisive rhetoric undermined party unity and distracted from lessons of the NPP’s 2024 electoral defeat.
“An aspirant has said delegates should not vote for me because I am a Mamprusi man and that I will lose votes in the Kusasi and other areas. This is very unfortunate and demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the situation,” Bawumia told delegates, without directly naming his rival.
Observers, however, have linked the criticism to Dr Acheampong’s earlier remarks, where he referenced past NPP flagbearers John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as having maintained ethnic neutrality to consolidate party support across regions.
Reaffirming his commitment to party cohesion, Dr Acheampong’s campaign insisted his focus remained on building unity and charting a winning strategy for the NPP.
“Dr Acheampong’s message is clear: the NPP must unite around a winning strategy and candidate. His vision is to position the party for decisive victory in 2028 and to govern with the strength and clarity needed to resolve deep-rooted national challenges,” the campaign stated.
It further urged delegates and supporters to watch the unedited version of Dr Acheampong’s comments to avoid being misled by “serial misrepresentations”.
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