The NPP Member of Parliament for Asikuma Odoben Brakwa, P.C. Appiah-Ofori has waded into the New Patriotic Party’s running mate stalemate, saying Jawula will be far better than Bawumia. According to him, Alhaji M.N.D Jawula will draw more votes for the party as a running mate than its 2008 running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who he said performed abysmally. He said a running mate is someone who complements the effort of the presidential candidate, opining that as far as he is concerned Dr. Bawumia failed to add anything to the votes of the NPP in the three northern regions. The choice of a running mate for the NPP flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, has generated a lot of speculation among the party and members of the public. Some media reports indicate that three persons have been shortlisted for the running mate position, namely the 2008 running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia; Lepowura Alhaji M.N.D Jawula and deputy Minority Leader, Ambrose Dery. Speaking on Asempa FM’s current affairs programme, Ekosii Sen on Monday, Appiah-Ofori noted that the NPP lost out on a lot of votes when Dr. Bawumia was chosen to partner Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 elections. “If you are a running mate, your responsibility is to add to votes the flagbearer will poll and if one cannot do that then a running mate is of no use. But you will note that NPP even lost in Bawumia’s hometown so how can we use him again,” he noted. He stressed that Dr. Bawumia who was the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) will be a liability to the party if nominated again as the party’s running mate for the 2012 general elections. He asserted that looking at the performance of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the 2008 elections; he should never be considered for the 2012 elections because the NPP will lose miserably. The anti-corruption crusader hinted that he had petitioned the Asantehene to tell Nana Akufo-Addo not to nominate Bawumia for the second time. “I have been petitioning the party since the issue of the running mate popped up and even petitioned Otumfuo to advice Nana Addo not to consider Bawumia again”. He asked the NPP and its flagbearer to consider giving Dr. Bawumia the position of Governor of Bank of Ghana due to his economics background than being nominated as a running mate which will not bring anything positive to the NPP. “If Bawumia is picked by the party without considering my advice, I will campaign for Nana Addo alright but the end results will not be favourable. Bawumia’s father was a CPP and everyone knows the relationship between the NPP and CPP so how many people will even support him in his family?" Honourable P.C. Appiah-Ofori noted that the choice of a running mate should not be based on religious lines but someone who can attract the crowds for the party. “I have told Nana Addo not to even think of considering Bawumia this time round because he cannot give us the votes we need to win 2012 easily looking at his record in 2008”. Touting the credentials of the former Chief Director at the Ministry of Health, Alhaji M.N.D. Jawula, P.C. Appiah-Ofori said he can give NPP the needed votes. He said as a chief in the northern region, M.N.D Jawula can mobilize the other chiefs in northern Ghana to draw support for the NPP. “You know the people of the north respect their chiefs very well and if you a respectable chief like Jawula, how many votes can’t you attract?” He said Alhaji Jawula has been in the party for sometime now and has the political numbers to wrestle a lot of votes for the NPP. ”What do we need than votes in 2012. It is votes we need so we must make the right choice by choosing M.N.D. Jawula”. He asked the NPP not to make any mistake this time round in choosing someone who cannot help the party win against the incompetent Mills/Mahama administration. “With Jawula as running mate in the 2012 elections, I am convinced the chiefs in the North will help NPP win more votes by joining their fellow chief to become a Vice President,” he stressed.