The National Executive of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has rejected a cheque from a group calling itself the Bawumia Fun Club.

The group on Friday, May 26 made an attempt to pick the Presidential nomination forms for Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to contest the presidential candidacy of the ruling party.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has declared his interest in running for the flagbearership position of NPP but is yet to officially launch a campaign or pick up nomination forms.

The Bawumia Fun Club says it raised the required GH¢50,000 to support Dr Bawumia in his NPP flagbearership bid.

The group says the money was raised through contributions from all its members across the various constituencies in the country.

During an event at the Cultural Centre in Kumasi, the group’s National Chairman, Eric Kwabena Twumasi Ankrah stated that the vice president is the finest person to lead the NPP because of his leadership characteristics.

He stated that the vice president’s humility and respect for ordinary Ghanaians naturally puts him ahead of all other candidates.

“Dr. Bawumia is very respectful and knowledgeable, he has all the qualities to lead the country,” he noted.

In refusing the GH¢50,000 cheque for the nomination forms, the party said it had no authorisation from the campaign team of the vice president to receive the endorsement.

The party, however, demanded an authorisation note from the club which its members could not produce, and as a result, they were not allowed to pick up the nomination forms.

In a bid to secure an endorsement from the Vice President's Office, the group was told that plans were underway to consolidate all the support groups intending to acquire the nomination forms for Dr Bawumia’s flagbearership bid and issue a cheque for the forms.

The rejection of the cheque by the NPP National Executive has raised eyebrows among political commentators, as it questions the legitimacy of the activities of support groups in the party.

Many political pundits have predicted a keen contest between Dr. Bawumia and former Trade Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen for the party’s flagbearership position.

Meanwhile, the NPP is expected to hold its Presidential primaries in November 2023 to elect the flagbearer for the crucial 2024 general elections.

In this regard, the party on Friday, May 26, 2023, opened the nominations for aspiring presidential candidates to pick up nomination forms.

Nominations will be open for nearly a month and close on Saturday, June 24, 2023.

Prior to picking the forms, aspirants are expected to pay a non-refundable nomination fee of GHȼ50,000.