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Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has refuted claims by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) that his education was bankrolled by the party.

The vice-presidential nominee of the opposition New Patriotic Party’s comment follows NDC General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia’s claim that: “Bawumia’s father joined virtually every political party that existed after independence, from the Northern Peoples Party, then when the minority parties came together to form the United Party (UP), he joined that party as well. He later joined the CPP and he became the District Commissioner. He further joined Dr Limann’s party where he was made the Minister for Cocoa Affairs. Until his death, he was the Chairman of the Council of State, under ex-President J.J Rawlings and that is when he got scholarship for his son Mahamudu Bawumia to study abroad.”

In a rebuttal statement, however, the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana said: “I would like to state for the record that the NDC has had nothing to do with my entire education and I have never been on Government of Ghana scholarship for my studies abroad.”

Below is Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s full statement:

RE: NDC MADE DR. BAWUMIA SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE

My attention has been drawn to the above story reported by Ghanaweb on October 6th, 2016 (http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/NDC-made-Bawumia-successful-in-life-Asiedu-Nketia-475118). In this story, the NDC General Secretary, Asiedu Nketia is reported to have said that the NDC facilitated my education by granting me a scholarship to study abroad. I am also informed that a similar statement was made by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Limuna recently in Walewale.

While my initial instinct was to laugh off and ignore such a palpable lie, I have come to understand that the NDC machinery specialises in the fabrication of such stories and would continue repeating them until they assume ring of truth.

I would like to state for the record that the NDC has had nothing to do with my entire education and I have never been on Government of Ghana scholarship for my studies abroad. My education history is as follows:

1969-1975 Sakasaka Primary School (Tamale)

1975-1982 Tamale Secondary School, Ghana – GCE O and A-Levels

1982-1984 Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (A.C.I.B) –U.K
Emile Woolf College of Accountancy, London, England

1984-1986 B.Sc. Economics (First Class Hons.)
University of Buckingham, UK

1987- 1988 M.Sc. Development Economics
University of Oxford , UK (Lincoln College)

1991 - 1995 Ph.D. in Economics
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia., Canada

In fact the NDC as a party was only formed in 1992 when I was mid-way through my Ph.D studies at Simon Fraser University which was financed through fellowships and teaching assistantships.

So which part of my education (from primary school to Ph.D) was financed by the NDC? When did the government of Ghana ever offer me a scholarship? I will ask the General Secretary of the NDC to respond and not run away like they did when I presented them 170 facts from my recent lecture.

This is not how politics should be done. Why would persons such as the General Secretary of the NDC and a Minister of State engage in the deliberate fabrication and peddling of such a falsehood? If they are looking for something to attack me on they can at least start with a response to the 170 facts from my lecture.

What is clear is that the NDC has lost the argument on issues and now resorted to attacking my person with fabricated lies. That strategy will fail. You cannot run a country with propaganda and lies.

……signed……



Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
2016 NPP Vice Presidential Candidate