NPP flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on Saturday, October 3, 2026, accused the Mahama administration of failing to deliver at least seven campaign promises, including a GH¢6,500 cocoa price pledge he described as “a scam”, in his address to the party’s National Delegates Conference at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.
Speaking as delegates gathered to elect nine national officers from 47 aspirants, Dr Bawumia also said illegal mining had “grown embarrassingly worse” under the NDC government in nearly two years.
He told the party it would not wait for the 2028 campaign to begin preparing for government, revealing that policy committees have already been set up to shape the NPP’s 2029 governance programme.
The address came on the same day delegates voted on the party’s national executives. You can read our earlier background on the NPP delegates conference and the 7,121 delegates electing a chairman and eight other national officers.
Bawumia lists 7 broken NDC promises
Dr Bawumia read out a list of pledges he said the governing NDC had failed to honour since taking office.
- Women’s Development Bank: not yet operational after nearly two years.
- Electricity tariffs: promised reduction, but he said tariffs have instead seen a “dramatic increase”.
- Cocoa price: the GH¢6,500 pledge, which he called “a scam” and “completely deceptive”.
- Automatic posting of teachers and nurses: described as “another scam”.
- Cancellation of teacher licensure exams: he said this promise had “proven to be another scam”.
- Menzgold customers: the promise to pay all affected customers remains unfulfilled.
- Nkoko Nkitikiti programme: he said the poultry initiative had failed.
Bawumia on galamsey and the 24-hour economy
On illegal mining, Dr Bawumia acknowledged galamsey as a complex challenge that has troubled most governments of the Fourth Republic.
However, he said the NDC had promised to resolve it within months and restore polluted water bodies. “Today, under their watch, in nearly two years, galamsey has grown embarrassingly worse,” he said.
He also criticised the 24-hour economy policy, saying the “1 job, 3 shifts, 3 people” model had not produced the promised jobs. Referring to the La Beach demolitions, he said: “A government that promised new jobs is instead destroying the ones Ghanaians created for themselves.”
Cost of living despite 5% inflation
Dr Bawumia said that although inflation has fallen to 5% on paper, the cost of living for ordinary Ghanaians has “increased massively”.
He pointed to rising transport fares linked to fuel and spare parts costs, higher rents, and electricity bills hurting barbers, salon operators and bakers.
He credited the cedi’s stability largely to the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme introduced in June 2021, but claimed the current government was making “unprecedented losses” on it in 2025.
Drug trafficking, Free SHS and Agenda 111
The NPP flagbearer said Ghana’s name was being “dragged through the ports of Europe” over drug seizures abroad.
“Under the NPP’s tenure, virtually all the drugs arrests were made here in Ghana. Today, the biggest hauls are being found abroad, after slipping through our ports unnoticed,” he said, calling for a bipartisan parliamentary committee with public sittings.
He also said the Agenda 111 district hospitals project had stalled and claimed the quality of meals under Free SHS had deteriorated.
Bawumia raises Baffour Awuah case
Dr Bawumia accused the government of running “a different justice system for the NDC and another system for all other Ghanaians”.
He cited the case of Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, who he said was detained overnight after voluntarily reporting. “That is not justice. It is the weaponisation of state power,” he said.
NPP begins preparing for 2029 governance programme
“We will not wait for the campaign to start thinking about how to govern. The work is already underway,” Dr Bawumia said.
He said the party had listened to Ghanaians since its December 2024 defeat and was engaging stakeholders. He promised “one law applied equally to every citizen, whatever their party” if the NPP returns to power.
What the speech means for NPP supporters
For party members, the speech sets the opposition’s main lines of attack ahead of 2028: cocoa prices, galamsey, jobs, cost of living and the rule of law.
It also signals that the flagbearer wants the incoming executives to build “strong party machinery” and keep ranks closed after a competitive internal contest.
What happens next
Voting for the nine national executive positions is taking place at the conference, with results expected after counting. Dr Bawumia urged all aspirants: “Let us vote in peace, accept the results in good faith, and leave Kumasi as one family.”
The government has not yet responded publicly to the specific claims made in the speech.
Key details at a glance
- Who: Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, NPP flagbearer for 2028
- Where: Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Kumasi
- When: Saturday, October 3, 2026
- Broken promises cited: 7, including the GH¢6,500 cocoa price pledge
- Galamsey: “grown embarrassingly worse” in nearly two years
- Party election: 47 aspirants contesting 9 national offices
- Next step: policy committees working on the NPP’s 2029 governance programme
FAQs
What did Bawumia say at the NPP delegates conference?
He accused the NDC government of breaking promises on cocoa prices, electricity tariffs, teacher postings and Menzgold payments, and said galamsey has worsened. He also urged delegates to accept the election results peacefully.
What is the GH¢6,500 cocoa price promise Bawumia mentioned?
It is a cocoa price pledge Dr Bawumia attributed to the NDC, which he described in Kumasi as “a scam” and “completely deceptive”.
Is the NPP preparing its 2029 manifesto?
Yes. Dr Bawumia said the party has set up policy committees and is consulting stakeholders on its 2029 governance programme.
Dr Bawumia used the NPP’s biggest gathering since its 2024 defeat to list seven promises he says the NDC has broken, warn that galamsey has worsened and declare that work on the party’s 2029 governance programme is already underway. Read the full text of Bawumia’s address.
