NPP NEC, Quo Vadis?

To the New Patriotic Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), I ask in Swahili, “nininikinachoendelea?” to wit, “What the heck is going on?”

The party is breaking apart but yet, NEC, seems like not to be noticing anything. It was under this administration that a founding member felt disrespected and broke away from the party. We heard people saying, “Alan, can go. His departure will not have any effect on the party.” Then it happened during the 2024 elections.Over two million NPP supporters, decided not to vote at all. Was it that they were very disappointed in what was happening in the party and since they cannot see themselves voting for any other party, they decided to abstain?

Dr. Bawumia was the flag bearer, but he alone could not lead the party to victory. The work load was on all party officers from polling stations to national. But one thing was clear, a cocktail of pride, arrogance and ego-ism, drove at least a third of supporters away from the polls in December 2024. And yet lessons were not learnt.

After this abysmal performance at the polls, one would have expected all the party officers, especially from the national and regional levels, to resign and hand-over the partyto an interim management team. But no, the status quo remained and the NEC keeps parading itself as the authority who all must obey. Taking unilateral decisions and imposing them on the party.

For instance, how can a failed administration decide to organise the next presidential primary when indeed, by the party rules, a new administration is mandated to do that? And when the recent national delegates conference took place and constitutional amendments were tabled, the new primary date was not table up for vote, rather it was imposed on the party.

I have problems with this January 2026 presidential primary. Firstly, it is not for a failed administration to decide on this. Secondly, this Top-Down Approach would not resolve any problems, but rather create more. Once the aspirants go round to campaign, there will be party members who will choose sides and after the flag bearer is elected, each and every member who openly supported him, can automatically be elected intoa party office or become a parliamentary candidate. Only those from the flag bearer’s camp will be put into positions, whether they are capable or not. In other words, there shall be more impositions.

Those who are saying that electing a flagbearer early and ahead of other parties would endear him to Ghanaians; so, come 2028 majority of the electorates would vote for him, might have forgotten that it is unity that wins elections and not early primaries. The 1979 split in the UP Tradition led to two very popular politicians, Victor Owusu and William Ofori-Atta, losing to the hitherto unknown Hilla Limann, who was in the race backed by a fully united party.

Another thing that this failed administration is blindly supervising, is allowing party members to come out tearing aspirants apart. Recently Maurice Ampaw came on air and condemned Kennedy Agyapong adding that he was not fit to be president.

Then a national executive officer, Ernest Owusu Bempah, also came on air destroying the reputation of Dr Bawumia. Things that came from the mouths of these two loose-cannons were so distasteful that should any of these two gentlemen win the primary, he could be discredited by the party’s opponents, prior to the General Elections. Moreover, can Maurice Ampaw campaign for Kennedy Agyapong or Owusu Bempah campaign for Dr. Bawumia. What can they say to convince people that they are genuine.

And in all this, NEC is not cracking the whip but sitting there taking wrong decisions and feeling proud about them.

To the amendments of the constitution, I will take three. I have a problem with Motion 43. Why should government appointees who want to contest a sitting MP, resign from their posts? The party should know that appointees do not resign, when contesting for seats and the party has no right to interfere in government.

What if that appointee is playing an important role in government that is helping both government and party? Must he resign two years before General Elections? Is the party not weakening government? Is the party not imposing sitting MPs on the constituencies? And what if the sitting MP is also a government appointee?

With Motion 44, I think it is unfair not to add former CEOs of state organisations and departments, former ambassadors and high commissioners to the Electoral College. These people also help the party, a lot, at all levels and they must be acknowledged.

All said, what is the strength of the Electoral College now, when the party has no database?

I also have problems with the maintaining of age limit of youth in the party at forty-years, when in any African charter, the limit is thirty-five. How would it feel if the party is represented at an Africa youth event, when no one present is above thirty-five, except the NPP reps? The party must adopt what is in Africa and open up for more youth to take responsibilities in it.

So, to the current NEC, I ask in Latin, “Quo Vadis?” “Where are you going to?”Where are you leading NPP to? To another abysmal performance in Election 2028?

Hon. Daniel Dugan

Editor’s note: Views expressed in this article do not represent that of The Chronicle