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The New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer’s five day tour of the Western Region has seen the latest bout of religious politicking with the spokesperson to Nana Akufo-Addo, urging Muslims to vote for the NPP in gratitude for having a Muslim running mate, Dr. Mahmudu Bawumia.

Nana Addo’s spokesperson, Mustapha Hamid, backed this call with scripture from the Quran where he said Nana Addo was doing good to Muslims and that he deserved Muslim votes in return.

Addressing party supporters at Sefwi Akontombra, Mustapha Hamid, said “If somebody like him [Nana Addo] is doing this for us Muslims and we say we don’t like, let us remember that in the Quran, Allah tells us that: If somebody does good to you and you thank them, I will bless you; but if somebody does good to you and don’t thank them be careful my wrath doesn’t fall on you.”

“Now if Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo has done all this for Muslims and we don’t thank him, Allah himself has said his wrath will fall on you. It is not me Mustapha Hamid telling you this. So let us vote for him.”

Mustapha Hamid also insinuated that the Nana Addo retained Dr. Mahmudu Bawumia as his running mate because the latter is a Muslim.

“Look at Alhaji Dr. Mahmudu Bawumia, on three occasions Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo repeated him as his running mate. The reason he repeated him was because he is a Muslim.”

Collins Dauda urges Zongos to shun NPP

Mustapha Hamid’s words to Muslims follows the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Collins Dauda’s call to people in Zongos in the country to shun the NPP because they will discriminate against them.

“People from the UP [United Party] tradition are not our friends and such we should not be in bed with them. They are people the Zongo community cannot rely on… They are like lions, no matter what, they will not have good intentions for us,” he pronounced to NDC supporters in Koforidua in the Eastern Region.

Alhaji Dauda asserted that the NPP had a long history of discriminating against people living in Zongos, known for being mainly inhabited by Muslims, and “if you allow the NPP to come to power again, they will exhibit this same character of discrimination.”

Christian bias at the presidency

The last time comments of this nature emanated from the NPP, Dr. Bawumia accused the presidency of being biased against Muslims in the country.

According to him, the current seat of government is occupied by persons who are from the Christian fraternity which to him does not create balance within the highest political positions in Ghana.

Dr. Bawumia’s argument was that because there are two dominant religious groups in the country, the President and his Veep ought not to be from the same religion.