Former Vice-President and New Patriotic Party flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has opened up about the personal attacks he endured during the party’s recent presidential primary, attributing his response and eventual victory to patience, good character and unwavering faith in God.

Speaking at the NPP’s Muslim thanksgiving prayers held at the National Mosque in Accra on Friday, Dr Bawumia described the internal contest as emotionally taxing, revealing that some of the harshest attacks came from within his own political tradition.

“We have been through a gruelling election cycle. One that has the potential to have caused wounds and strained relationships. Elections can leave scars that may not show on the surface but can sometimes cut deeply,” he recalled.

Dr Bawumia said he was subjected to insults, falsehoods and personal attacks targeting both him and his family during the campaign for the party’s 2028 presidential slot.

“Throughout this campaign, I have listened to my own party members insult me, I have listened to them tell lies about me and my family, I have listened to them say hurtful and unprintable things about me all in the quest to bring me down and achieve their ambitions or the ambitions of those they supported.”

“It was a storm of lies and vilification against me and my family. There was tribal and religious bigotry directed towards me. But I smiled through the storm because I knew Allah knows the truth and will not forsake me.”

Despite the intensity of the contest, Dr Bawumia said he chose not to retaliate, drawing inspiration from Islamic teachings.

He explained that he relied on the Hadith, which “advised that we should respond to false accusations with patience, good character and trust in God” rather than “retaliation or harshness.” He also cited Quran 41:34, “which tells us to ‘repel evil with what is better.” Furthermore, we should leave the ultimate judgement to God.

“It is in following with His teachings that I chose not to respond to all the lies and insults. Thankfully, God’s mighty will was shown on January 31st 2026 when He rewarded me with a stunning victory at the primaries.”

Dr Bawumia said the scale of his endorsement by delegates demonstrated the party’s commitment to inclusion.

“I was so happy with the overwhelming nature of the victory because it showed very clearly that the NPP is not a tribal party and it also showed clearly that the NPP is not a religiously bigoted party.”

“The delegates showed that our party votes on the basis of competence, capability, vision, character, humility, integrity and tolerance and not on the basis of tribe or religion.”

The thanksgiving service, held after Jummah prayers, marked the beginning of a series of national thanksgiving events by the party following its presidential primaries. An inter-denominational Christian service is scheduled to take place in Accra on Sunday, February 15, 2026.

In a related address at the same event, Dr Bawumia urged party faithful to treat the thanksgiving not as a personal celebration, but as a moment of reflection and rededication.

“We are grateful to God for His guidance and mercies throughout our recent internal processes. Our national conference was a success and our flag-bearership election was incident free. Without God’s arms wrapped around us, we would not have been successful. Praise be to his name,” he said.

“Today’s thanksgiving service is not a celebration of personal ambition.”

“It is for me, a moment to join you all in reflection, prayer and recommitment to a higher cause - the cause of contributing to the building of a nation that is truly great and strong.”

Calling for unity ahead of the 2028 general election, Dr Bawumia urged party members to close ranks and focus on shared objectives.

He appealed to them to “deepen our concentration on what we have in common and put less emphasis on what we differ on.”

Reminding the party of the work ahead, he cautioned that “the road ahead will demand discipline, sacrifice, and hard work.”

“Victory in 2028 will not be gifted to us. It must be earned, constituency by constituency, household by household, with humility and purpose.”