AID AGENDA, a Non-governmental organisation, has commended the New Patriot Party (NPP), for its decision not to contest the by-election to be conducted in the Tamale Central Constituency following the tragic death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed.
AID AGENDA is a non-profit organisation, which works towards strengthening democratic governance by supporting inclusive political participation, enhancing policy development through evidence based advocacy and empowering instructions to be transparent, accountable and also responsive to the needs of all citizens.
The organisation in a press statement said the decision was not just a political gesture, but a heartfelt tribute to a colleague whose life and service have left a lasting impact and also a call for political unity in honour of the eight distinguished Ghanaians who lost their lives while on an official assignment on August 6, 2025 in the ill-fated military helicopter crash at Adansi Sikaman near Akrofuom in the Ashanti Region.
The statement, which was signed by Mr Isaac Boison, Acting President of Aid Agenda, noted that the NPP had demonstrated “a deep sense of respect, compassion and political maturity by deciding not to contest”, and added that as the “nation prepares for another by-election at Akwatia, we respectfully call on the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to consider taking a similar step to honour the memory of the late Ernest Kumi”.
“We salute the NPP for this honourable decision and encourage the NDC to follow suit in Akwatia as a mark of respect to the legacy of Ernest Kumi”. By so doing, it gesture will help the country to continue “to rise above partisanship in moments that call for unity”.
“In choosing not to field a candidate, the NPP has placed national unity and human dignity above partisan interests, reminding us all that politics, at its best, is about people and not just power. It is in moments like these that true leadership is revealed, and we commend the NPP for leading with empathy and honour” and hoped that the NDC would reciprocate the gesture to show that “our political divides can give way to shared respect and national solidarity”, the statement stated.
Aid Agenda, long before the NPP announced its intention not to contest in the Tamale Central by-elections, had already issued a statement on the matter, part of which read; “At this time of great national grief, we humbly appeal to both the NDC and the NPP to consider an extraordinary gesture of solidarity to allow the incumbent party to retain their respective constituencies in which the departed Minister Dr. Murtala Muhammad of Tamale Central and MP Ernest Kumi of Akwatia served…”
Meanwhile, the NDC last week strongly rejected the suggestion to replicate the gesture in Akwatia, arguing that the party did not believe that the NPP actually won the Akwatia parliamentary seat in the 2024 general elections and, therefore, the circumstances surrounding Akwatia and Tamale Central by-elections were not the same.
From Thomas Agbenyegah Adzey, Kumasi
