Former Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul says the growing support former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia enjoys among northerners in his bid to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is grounded in competence and electability, not ethnic loyalty.

Addressing party supporters in Yendi, the Bimbilla MP rejected claims that Dr Bawumia’s backing in the north is driven by regional considerations.

He insisted that northerners have historically prioritised capability and the party’s chances of winning power over where a candidate comes from.

According to Mr Nitiwul, the former Vice President has earned the confidence of party faithful because of his track record in office and his appeal as a national candidate, describing him as “the most competent candidate” and “the best Vice President Ghana has produced.”

He argued that history clearly shows that northerners have never voted along ethnic lines, citing key moments in the NPP’s past to support his point.

"Since the beginning of Ghana, northerners have never in their lives voted because the person comes from the north, never," he said.

"Northerners, especially the UP and NPP, have never voted because the person is a northerner. We have never followed the person because he's a northerner, never. Our elders, our grandfathers, never taught us that we should follow somebody because he's a northerner."

Mr Nitiwul recalled that during the Busia era, northern political leaders who commanded a majority of parliamentary seats still handed leadership of the party to Dr K.A. Busia, despite his having just one MP, because they believed he was the right person to lead the party to victory.

He also pointed to the 1996 NPP presidential primaries, when Alhaji Malik Yakubu, then MP for Yendi, contested but received minimal support, including from his own constituency, as party delegates rallied behind former President John Agyekum Kufuor, whom they believed stood the best chance of winning national power.

Similarly, he noted that although the late Alhaji Aliu Mahama served as Vice President, northerners later threw their support behind former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in successive elections, voting for him three times before he eventually won the presidency.

“These examples show clearly that we do not follow people because they are from our places,” Mr Nitiwul stressed.

“We follow people because we believe they are the best for the party and for Ghana.”

He maintained that the same principle explains the current support for Dr Bawumia, whom he described as the NPP’s strongest bet to retain power in the 2028 general elections.

“We are not rooting for Mahamudu Bawumia because he is a northerner,” he said.

“We are rooting for him because he is the most competent person. He is the one who can give us power in 2028.”

Expressing confidence in Dr Bawumia’s leadership prospects, Mr Nitiwul said the former Vice President has already demonstrated his capabilities in office and would deliver even more if given the opportunity to serve as president.

“Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is going to be president of the Republic of Ghana,” he declared.

“He will make the north proud, make Ghana proud, and make Africa proud. That is why we are following him.”