Politics

Ghana: Vice President Bawumia becomes ruling party’s candidate for 2024 elections

Published

12 months ago

November 5, 2023

Ghana’s Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, has emerged as the presidential candidate of the ruling party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), at next year’s presidential elections.

After taking first place in the first stage of the primary in August, the 60-year-old economist and former central banker, who has served as second-in-command, won 61% of the votes cast in the second stage of the primary.

He hopes to succeed President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, who is scheduled to leave office in January 2025 after serving the eight years required by the constitution. Bawumia, in his acceptance speech, promised to rebuild the crisis-hit economy if elected president.

“I want to lead a nation that improves and unleashes the talents of our youth and offers good jobs with good pay and sustainable growth with macroeconomic discipline,” he said.

No party has ever won more than two consecutive terms in the presidency of Ghana, even though the ruling parties are frequently regarded as favourites. Bawumia’s record may also come under scrutiny from voters as the West African nation battles to recover from the worst economic crisis in a generation.

If Bawumia emerges as president in the election, Ghanaians will hope that his financial background can influence economic recovery in the country. But that has not counted for much while being vice president. A researcher at Ghana’s Institute for Fiscal Studies, Said Boakye, noted, “One would have thought that with Bawumia as vice president—especially since he leads the economic management team—the economy would be doing well, but not much has been accomplished.”

Bawumia’s emergence coincides with the NPP’s advocacy for increased diversity. He is not only the first non-member of the dominant Akan-speaking ethnic group to lead the NPP, but also the first Muslim leader of a major party in Ghana since 1992.

Related Topics:Featured Ghana Mahamudu Bawumia

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Politics

Nigerian Air Force adds 34 Italian planes, helicopters

Published

3 days ago

October 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s air force is acquiring 24 Italian-made M-346 attack jets and ten AW-109 Trekker helicopters as part of a fleet renewal strategy, a spokesperson said on Monday.

Air Force spokesperson, Olusola Akinboyewa, said in a statement that a team led by Nigeria’s Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar met with executives from Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A, the manufacturer, in Rome who confirmed the first three M-346 aircraft were expected to be delivered by early 2025, with subsequent deliveries running until mid-2026.

The Trekker helicopters are expected by early 2026, Akinboyewa said.

“The M-346 and Trekker acquisitions are key steps towards fleet renewal,” Abubakar was cited as saying, emphasizing the need for a maintenance hub in Nigeria to provide long-term support, particularly for the M-346 fleet.

Nigeria, which has been fighting a 15-year Islamist insurgency against Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the northeast, as well as attacks by armed bandits in the northwest, has increased military spending in recent years.

Nigeria received two “Huey” helicopters in June to go with the two Trekkers it had previously purchased and the twelve American-built A-29 Super Tucano light attack jets it had been given in 2021 to combat rebels.

Wing Loong II drones manufactured in China are still awaiting delivery.

Politics

Cameroon prohibits discussing 91-year-old President Biya’s health

Published

6 days ago

October 12, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In response to growing suspicion that 91-year-old President Paul Biya was ill, Cameroon has banned any talk regarding Biya’s health, according to a letter released by the interior ministry.

The reports that the president had been unwell were brushed off as “pure fantasy” by the administration, which released comments earlier this week stating that he was in good condition and on a private visit to Geneva.

Paul Atanga Nji, the interior minister, stated that talking about the president’s health was a matter of national security in a letter to regional governors dated October 9.

“Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to have any discussion about the president’s condition in the media going forward.” The whole weight of the law would be applied to offenders, Nji stated.

He gave the governors orders to form teams to keep an eye on social media and private media broadcasts.

If Biya passed away or was too sick to hold office, the oil- and cocoa-producing nation of Cameroon—which has only had two presidents since gaining independence from France and Britain in the early 1960s—would probably be faced with a difficult succession situation.

The National Communication Council, Cameroon’s media regulator, could not be reached for comment at this time. Many criticised the action as an example of state censorship.

“The president is elected by Cameroonians and it’s just normal that they worry about his whereabouts,” said Hycenth Chia, a Yaounde-based journalist and talk show host on privately owned television Canal2 International.

“We see liberal discussions on the health of Joe Biden and other world leaders, but here it is a taboo,” he told Reuters.

Committee to Protect Journalists, an advocacy group for press freedom, expressed its deep concern.

“Trying to hide behind national security on such a major issue of national importance is outrageous,” said Angela Quintal, head of the CPJ’s Africa Program.

Since early September, when Biya attended a China-Africa summit in Beijing, she has not been sighted in public. His absence at a summit in France last weekend, which was scheduled, fuelled even more public speculation about his health.

President Biya is one of several long-serving African leaders, including Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, who has been in office since 1982, and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame is also gradually evolving into the group.