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Era where only Akans lead the NPP is over, it’s time for other tribes – Okyere Baafi
Member of Parliament for New Juaben South Constituency in Eastern region who doubles as the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Michael Okyere Baafi says the era where flagbearership position in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was a preserve for Akans is over.
According to him, it is now time for other tribes to also take over to lead the party as Presiditial candidate and to ascend the Presidential seat.
Mr. Okyere Baafi explained that the NPP is made up of members from different ethnic groups and religions, therefore, appropriate for anyone qualified to lead the party regardless of his or her background.
“What I want to say is that, with the direction of the country, it is not only one community which makes Ghana. We have Ashantes, we have Ewes, we have Gas, we have Krobos, and Bonos in Ghana. Some of all these tribes are Members of NPP which means the era where only Akans lead the party is over. Now we need people from all these tribes listed to also lead the party to become president” Okyere Baafi said.
Hon. Michael Okyere Baafi made this comment when speaking at the official launch of “Women Delegates For Bawumia” in Koforidua, the Eastern regional capital.
Okyere Baafi described as decietful and untenable claims that Ghana is a Christian dominated country therefore a Muslim cannot become president.
“They say Ghana is a Christian country so some say a Muslim cannot lead the country. This is where I want to speak briefly on. For all those contesting the election the only one who can be president is called Mr. Mahamudu Bawumia. Among the aspirants the only one who can lead the party into victory, his name is Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia”.
He continued that “some Christians who want to deceive you that they are the majority so won’t vote for Muslim must cast their minds to Nigeria. In Nigeria, Muslims are majority but the President is a Christian. In Senegal, Muslims are majority but the President is a Christian. Listen very well ! A country with diverse tribes means everyone could become president in future”.
He said Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has demystified myth that Muslims cannot fellowship with Christians in church, and has set standard that will become a yardstick for every Muslim who wants to be President.
“Christians must listen. For the first time we are going to have a Muslim as President to serve as standard to every Muslim who dreams to be President. Dr.Bawumia will be the first Muslim to bring that standard because most Muslims don’t enter Churches to fellowship but we have a Muslim (Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia) who attends all-night services, a Muslim who go to convention, a Muslim who attend retreats, a Muslim who worships with Christians such a Muslim will become standard”.
He added “so henceforth, every Muslim who wants to be president will follow the standard. He must be a Muslim who can enter into churches, he should be a Muslim who can attend retreats, that is the paradigm shift brought to Ghana by Dr. Bawumia. He is setting a standard for everybody who is a Muslim who wants to become a president, for the first time he has set the standard for all of us.so don’t let anyone deceive you. Dr. Bawumia is well experienced, he has the will-power, he has the expertise, he has knowledge and wisdom to move Ghana forward”
“Women Delegates for Bawumia” is new political group within the ruling NPP made up of female delegates who have declared support for Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to become flagbearer of the party in 2024.
The theme for the Women Delegates for Bawumia is “The strength of a woman, the force behind Bawumia”
The launch was attended by female delegates of the NPP from all 33 Constituencies in the Eastern region.
The National Coordinator of “Women Delegates for Bawumia” Maame Esi Davenport said the aim of the group is to secure 80% female delegates votes for Dr.Bawumia.
This she said will be done through vigorous campaign strategy trumpeting achievements of Akufo Addo/Bawumia led government.
She tauted the competence of Dr.Mahamudu Bawumia in leading the country describing him as able and exceptional Vice President whose involvement in politics has changed the face of Ghanaian politics.
She stated that, Dr. Bawumia’s experience in both private and public sector adds to his credentials as best presidential material.
She averred that Dr. Bawumia has been instrumental in the Akuffo Addo led government’s policy interventions impacting positively on the country
Maame Esi Davenport debunked propaganda by opponents that Dr. Bawumia is new in NPP stating that “he has been with the NPP for decades, worked so hard for the NPP to win power through his economic lectures that exposed the incompetence of John Mahama led government” therefore deserves to lead the party.
On women empowerment, she said Dr. Bawumia has demonstrated in many ways his commitment to empowering women to take leadership roles to change society,using his Wife the second lady Samira Bawumia as an example.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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