Special Aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Akosua Manu affectionately known as Kozie, has defended the decision to concede defeat after the 2024 general elections, describing it as an act of leadership that helped protect national peace and save lives.

Her response follows recent comments by Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential aspirant, who criticised Dr. Bawumia for conceding too early in the 2024 polls.

In a Facebook post on Friday, October 17, 2025, Kozie questioned Mr. Agyapong’s criticism, arguing that his comments were inconsistent and insensitive to the circumstances that surrounded the election outcome.

“The lives of patriots and citizens would have been needlessly lost in defence of a cause he [Kennedy Agyapong] believed was long lost. He who conceded two years ahead of time cannot hold a candle to he who concedes after the polls to protect the lives of party supporters and Ghanaians,” she wrote.

She reminded him that while the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had won convincingly in 2024, indicating that the party had lost control of its thugs, creating an atmosphere of violence and unrest in some areas.

According to her, in such a volatile context, Dr. Bawumia’s concession was a deliberate decision to safeguard the lives of supporters and ordinary Ghanaians, rather than fuel tension or violence. She suggested that leadership is ultimately measured by the ability to prioritise national peace over personal ambition.

Akosua Manu also noted that it would have been irresponsible to risk lives over an outcome that, by all available data, was already clear implying that those who criticised Dr. Bawumia’s action were overlooking the importance of restraint and accountability in political leadership.