Bawumia is prominent amongst all VEEPs – Prof Agyeman-Duah

Former United Nations Advisor on Governance Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah has intimated that Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is the most prominent vice president as far as economic issues are concerned.

Although Prof Agyeman-Duah maintained that Dr Bawumia cannot completely be absolved from the current economic conditions in the country, he noted that the vice president has revolutionised the vice presidential office.

“Whilst it is difficult for most of us to believe that the vice president is not culpable in these matters, truly it is the president; it is the president’s policies.

“The only caveat here is that amongst many vice presidents that we’ve got, Dr Bawumia has been the most prominent on issues of the economy in the country”, Prof Agyeman-Duah told Alfred Ocansey on Ghana Tonight yesterday [Tuesday, February 27].

According to the governance expert, Dr Bawumia has been tagged with the issues of the economy owing to his prominence in such matters, stating that “he [Dr Bawumia] cannot run away from them”.

“He is so prominent, he cannot run away from it”, Prof Agyeman-Duah emphasised.

He also asserted that Dr Bawumia is “in a very tight situation” as he seeks the mandate of Ghanaians in the coming elections.

However, the governance expert threw a challenge at Dr Bawumia to publicly state his position on all government policies, which he knows he cannot take onto the campaign trail.

“I think [Dr] Bawumia is in a very tight situation because, on one hand, he cannot publicly denounce the policies of the president of which he was part, and at the same time, he is aware that certain policies have not been very good and he cannot carry that to the campaign trail”.

Prof Agyeman-Duah said, “That is the difficulty but I think if he is bold enough to say bluntly to Ghanaians that look, yes, these areas of economic policies, I disagree, but I don’t call the last shot. My disagreement was expressed but in the end, the president decided to go his way”.

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However, Prof Agyeman-Duah maintained that it is legally right for the president not to take the views of any official because “truly, the buck stops on the president’s desk”.

He further noted that on every policy matter, the president will have multiple sources of advice.

Amongst all the vice presidents Ghana has had, Dr. Bawumia has been the most prominent, and that’s why he can’t escape. – Prof. Baffour Agyeman Duah, governance expert#GhanaTonight pic.twitter.com/ke80VspGmo

— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) February 28, 2024

The advice may come from the vice president, the council of state, or any private advisory board the president may have.

However, Prof Agyeman-Duah maintained that the ultimate decision comes from the president, adding that “he [President Akufo-Addo] is elected to rule us”.