Member of Parliament for Damongo and former Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor, says it is far too early for discussions about who should partner New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as running mate for the 2028 general election.

His comments come barely a week after Dr Bawumia emerged as the winner of the NPP presidential primaries, amid reports of intense internal lobbying for the vice-presidential slot.

JoyNews understands that two names have dominated early conversations within the party: former Energy Minister Matthew Opoku Prempeh, who served as running mate in 2024, and former Food and Agriculture Minister Dr Bryan Acheampong, who put up a strong showing in the primaries.

However, speaking exclusively to JoyNews' Kwaku Asante, Mr Jinapor said such discussions should be relegated to the background, stressing that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is yet to elect a flagbearer.

He argued that the immediate priority for the party should be internal reorganisation and rebuilding, rather than speculation over future appointments.

“Isn’t it too early? Isn’t it premature? We just had this election, and it's less than a month, and I think that our focus should be on reorganizing our party, restructuring our party, putting the party together, and making sure that the horse which Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is going to ride on to the election of 2028, which is the NPP machine, is fit for purpose," he said.

According to him, the task ahead is to strengthen the party machinery and ensure it is fully prepared to support Dr Bawumia’s bid in 2028.

"The question of Vice Presidential candidate, I believe, will come further down the road, not now,” he said.