Former Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South and a leading member of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign team, Samuel Atta Akyea, has defended the former Vice President, rejecting claims that he held executive power or interfered with ministerial appointments during former President Akufo-Addo's administration.

Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Friday, January 9, Mr Atta Akyea clarified that Dr. Bawumia's role was purely advisory and that the decisions made within government were ultimately the responsibility of former President Akufo-Addo.

In response to a claim that he had been slated for a ministerial role in the finance ministry, but that Dr. Bawumia had blocked it, he said, "I do not believe that Dr. Bawumia had the power to appoint ministers."

He found the assertion "very weird," emphasising that Dr. Bawumia's role as Vice President was to advise, not to dictate.

“Dr. Bawumia didn’t have the clout to talk,” Mr Atta Akyea said.

“He was playing an advisory role. And guess what, every advice has a recipient. If the person decides that they will use the advice, fine. If the person decides that they won’t use it, that is the end of the matter.”

Mr Atta Akyea also offered a rebuttal to criticisms of Dr. Bawumia’s involvement in managing the economy, noting that the actual decisions on fiscal policy and the national budget were made by former President Akufo-Addo.

He argued that attributing the country's economic challenges solely to Dr. Bawumia was both unfair and politically motivated.

“I have heard people who are so cruel, saying that Dr. Bawumia was in charge of the economy,” Mr Atta Akyea said.

“If they took the budget to Parliament, you would see that the budget is from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the year. The one who is going to read the budget is the Finance Minister.

"So excuse me to say, a lot of people are so cruel, and it serves their parochial interests and political shenanigans to attribute all the troubles of Akufo-Addo to Dr. Bawumia.”

The former Minister of Works and Housing further dismissed claims that Dr. Bawumia had an outsized influence on the administration, likening his role to that of a “mate” assisting the “driver” – a metaphor often used by the former Vice President to describe the working relationship between himself and former President Akufo-Addo.

“Dr. Bawumia uses this metaphor: People want to joke with it, but it’s a driver and a mate,” Mr Atta Akyea explained.

“A mate could sound a warning, ‘Driver, you are over-speeding.’ He is applying the systems. If the driver decides to speed more and disregard the advice, what is that going to be like?”