Former President John Agyekum Kufuor reportedly promised Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia that he " will go far" at one point.
The vice president said that this was before the previous president gave him a seat on the Ghana Telecom board.
Dr. Bawumia indicated that he will not conceal the fact that former President Kufuor is his political godfather, perhaps in response to assertions that he is a newcomer to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Speaking to party members in the Western Region, Dr. Bawumia disclosed that the Financial Times in London once hosted a symposium on Ghana' s economy during President Kufuor' s administration as the reason the former president became his political godfather.
Former President Kufuor, Mr. Osafo- Maafo, Dr. Paul Acquah, a former governor of the Bank of Ghana, himself, and other significant dignitaries from Ghana were among those he identified as having attended the conference.
He explained to the participants that during the discussion, one of the British organizers began discussing Ghana' s economy with the audience.
He said, " But at one point I felt that some of what he was stating about Ghana' s economy wasn' t accurate, so I asked to be allowed to speak, and happily my request was granted.
He claimed that once he had completed speaking, the mood in the room had shifted as a result of people realizing what the Kufuor government' s actual economic agenda was.
President Kufuor then asked for me during the break, and when I arrived, he congratulated me and told me, " Young man, you have done well. Keep it up, and you will go far.
He added, " President Kufuor appointed me to the board of Ghana Telecom just the same week after we returned to Ghana.
He revealed that former President Kufuor appointed him to fill the role of Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana in 2008 while he was a Special Assistant to the Governor at the time, Paul Acquah.
According to Dr. Bawumia, he was a vital member of the government' s technical negotiating team for HIPC under President Kufuor and served as the co- chair of the Economic Policy Coordinating Committee in 2001.
The team that helped President Kufuor stabilize the economy was the one that negotiated a four billion dollar relief package for Ghana, he revealed.
He also mentioned that he had a significant role in the implementation of the Bank of Ghana' s inflation targeting framework and the redenomination of the cedi.
He informed the NPP delegates that Nana Addo had sent for him after becoming the NPP' s flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo, the current president.
" When I was getting ready to meet him, I assumed that he probably wanted to know anything about the economy or required some economic numbers.
" So I prepared myself well, but when we met and after a brief chat, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo told me he wanted me to be his running mate.
" I was shocked since I was not a politician, but Nana Addo told me I should leave the politics to him and accept to be his running mate. I went to think about it and the following day I accepted his request, " the Vice President revealed.
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