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The search for a running mate for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, appears to have narrowed down to two individuals even as various interest groups lobbying from different levels intensify their game plan. The banker, who partnered the NPP flag-bearer in the 2008 polls, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, and Ambrose Dery, Deputy Minority Leader, are said to be two persons shortlisted for the privileged position, information reaching DAILY GUIDE indicates. The choice of a running mate in the largest opposition party was held at bay for a while when the subject reared its head with a vengeance, soon after the election of the flag-bearer, with a warning from party leaders for members to stay off the subject. Hon. Dery, the Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, is coming from the Upper West Region with a strong base in the Upper East, while Dr Bawumia is from the Northern region. The floodgates for the scramble for the position were opened last week when a section of the media broached it once more, including it on the party�s agenda even as the party flag-bearer continues with his Upper Region listening tour. The Muslim/Northern requirement has remained unwavering as an NPP criterion for the choice of a running mate. With the shortlist, it remains to be seen which of the two persons will win the heart of whoever is the final determinant of whose name should be put out in the public domain as running mate. Dr. Bawumia is a Muslim but his party colleague, Hon. Dery, belongs to the other great faith of Christianity, with a strong support from the minority in parliament. A previous list had the names of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Alhaji Nurudeen Jawula, Lepowura, and Alhaji Haruna Alhassan, deputy Managing Director of Metro TV.