Former Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has come to the defence of former Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, arguing that he should not be held solely responsible for Ghana’s economic challenges or the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) defeat in the 2024 general elections.

Addressing party members, Ms Adwoa Safo challenged assertions that Dr Bawumia bore primary responsibility for the country’s economic difficulties.

“Was Dr Mahamudu Bawumia a Finance Minister? Were we not in government when some of our MPs drew our attention to the issues, yet we failed to relieve the then Finance Minister of his duties—did we do that? Did he not completely ruin the economy before we finally did the needful? Do we have to blame Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for this?” she asked.

She likened the relationship between party leadership and its supporters to that of a bus driver and a conductor.

“If you are a bus conductor and your master (the driver) is driving, do you simply push him away and take full charge of his responsibilities? Let us be truthful to ourselves,” she said.

Ms Adwoa Safo also acknowledged the party’s own shortcomings while in government, citing governance lapses, disregard for public concerns, and financial mismanagement as key contributors to the party’s electoral loss.

“We ruined everything ourselves. We turned a deaf ear to Ghanaians, and we dipped our hands into the coffers of pensioners,” she said.

She stressed that the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections was the result of multiple factors, not the actions of a single individual.

“There were many factors that led to our electoral defeat in the 2024 election; it was not the fault of one individual,” she stated.