Disregard claims that Bawumia was blocked on the Kumasi highway says Gideon Boako

A spokesperson for the Vice President and presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Gideon Boako, has dismissed claims on social media that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was blocked by some irate youth from driving through a portion of the Nkawkaw-Kumasi highway.

A 47-second video clip that has gone viral on social media shows two police dispatch riders and several other vehicles waiting behind a blockage setup by some youth across the highway. Speculation was rife on social media that the cars seen in the video clip belonged to the convoy of the Vice President.

However, in a post on his Facebook wall, Dr Boako noted; “I have seen a video in circulation with the narrative that some enraged youth blocked the Vice President’s convoy on the Nkawkaw-Kumasi highway on Saturday, 4 May 2024. This narrative is a blatant falsehood.

“The Vice President did not even use that road during the entire week. The Vice President was in the Western region on 1 and 2 May (Wednesday and Thursday). He moved to the Western North region on Thursday, 3rd May, and got to Kumasi the same day around 10 pm. He left Kumasi in the morning of Saturday, 4th May, to Accra by air. The Vice President did not at any time drive from Kumasi to Accra to have used the Nkawkaw-Kumasi road,” Dr Gideon Boako’s post read.

“My understanding of the blockade is that there was an accident in which a loaded fuel tanker had fallen on the main road. The youth, in an attempt to prevent large casualties in the unfortunate event of an explosion, blocked the road until the fire service and other security agencies cleared for commuters to use the road,” the Facebook post of Dr Gideon Boako further read.

The NPP presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, began a nationwide campaign tour on Monday, 29 April 2024. Thus far, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has visited the Eastern Region, Dome Kwabenya in the Greater Accra Region, the Western Region, and the Western North Region.