The Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Godwin Tamekloe, has launched a blistering critique of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s leadership credentials, questioning whether his challenge in the 2024 race stems from a lack of publicity, or rather, what he termed "marketed incompetence."

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr. Tamekloe dismissed suggestions that Dr. Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP)'s flagbearer, requires extended years of marketing to improve his chances in the next presidential election.

Instead, he argued that the Vice President’s visibility is not in question, having been a key figure in Ghanaian politics for the past 16 years.

“From 2008 to 2016, Dr. Bawumia served as Nana Addo’s running mate.

He was also the star witness in the 2012 election petition—on national TV for eight months.

Since then, he has served as Vice President for eight years.

So can it really be said that he lacks publicity?” Tamekloe asked.

He posited that the core issue lies not in branding or public visibility, but in performance.

“When you are marketed as a competent economist and you deliver the opposite, the consumers—Ghanaians—will simply switch,” he said, adding that the NPP should be addressing what he described as “Bawumia’s incompetence,” rather than investing years in further campaign strategies.

Mr. Tamekloe further criticised the current direction of the NPP, arguing that the party’s strategy appears more beneficial to its executives than to the flagbearer himself.

“If you misdiagnose the problem, you risk even greater failures.

The current arrangement isn’t even helping Dr. Bawumia—it only comforts the national executives,” he stated.

Turning his attention to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Tamekloe urged the party to remain focused on delivering tangible results if elected.

He cited key governance priorities such as stabilising the exchange rate, ensuring steady fuel prices, and maintaining a reliable electricity and food supply as crucial mandates for the NDC to uphold.

Reflecting on the NDC’s 2016 electoral defeat, Mr. Tamekloe noted that expanding the party’s electoral college to include every member had been a costly mistake.

“We lost badly. But the party learned from hindsight and returned to empowering only branch executives, which helped recover parliamentary strength and ultimately win both the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.”

He warned political parties against adopting self-serving policies and using shortcuts that weaken grassroots structures.

“How do you roof a house before building the foundation?” he asked.

“Even Nana Akufo-Addo, whose politics I often disagree with, never attempted such a strategy.”

Mr. Tamekloe concluded by stating that a weak and ineffective opposition only worsens the plight of ordinary Ghanaians, emphasising that all political actors must place national interest above partisan calculations.