Former Deputy Information Minister Fatimatu Abubakar says the criticism aimed at Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia highlights his status as the frontrunner in the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer race.

Speaking on JoyNews AM, she argued that the level of scrutiny directed at the Vice President reflects his prominence in the contest.

“The shots that are directed at Dr. Bawumia should indicate to you that he is the leading candidate. If he was irrelevant to the contest, if he wasn’t the leading candidate, if he wasn’t the winning candidate, they would have treated him like any other person. It doesn’t matter, let’s run; he’s not going to make any impact,” she said.

She noted that other aspirants look up to Dr. Bawumia because of his strong presence and popularity within the party.

“Whoever is showing in the race is looking up to him because, indeed, he is the leading contender. He is the most popular among all the contestants, and he is the most marketed,” she stated.

Highlighting his extensive political experience, she added: “You cannot take for granted his experience of about eight years, two terms as a running mate in opposition and two terms, eight years, as Vice President and a former flagbearer of the party. You can’t overlook that.”

Pointing to his visibility across the country, she said: “You enter every village, from Nyankpanduri, Denu, among others, and you will find some resemblance of branding with the party, using his images or other materials, even souvenirs with his picture on them. He is well-marketed and very popular. I am not surprised that he will be at the receiving end of a lot of shots.”

She urged party members to focus on the NPP’s common opponents rather than targeting individual candidates.

“Just as he mentioned yesterday, I rather think the shots should move from him to our common target, which is our opponent,” she stressed.