The New Patriotic Party was built on solid foundations of principles, high standard of discipline, with democratic fundamentals of respect for diverse opinion, rule of law and all others that can be found in any true liberal democratic union. As such in the party, the elders stood out to be counted and they managed affairs as wise and principled elders should.
The over-all leaders were the national executives with the national council of elders. Then the regional executives who held the constituencies under them, together with one aim: victory at the polls. The constituency executives took charge of their constituencies and sanity reigned in the party.
In another section were the parliamentary candidates and flag bearer who worked together with the chairpersons, for the success of the party.
Everything went on well for the NPP under its various national chairmen, until in 2006, after HarunaEsseku, the Establishment came up to take control of the party.
As a well organised group of elderly members from the UNC side, they cleverly plotted an overthrow of the party’s principles by first using the NPP’s standard of separation of powers. The Establishment effectively separated party from government and many members fell for it. So, suddenly they looked at President Kufuor more as a destroyer of the party and rejected anyone perceived to be his own. Soon, the Establishment became the one to decide what should go on in the party and went on to convinced delegates not to vote for people perceived to have the support of H.E. J.A. Kufuor and so it was, that Steve Ntim was rejected for Mac Manu as national chairman.
In 2010, Steve Ntim who could have been a very good chairman as he proved his capability as first-vice chairman under HarunaEsseku, was dumped again for the Establishment’s choice, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey. Democratic dictatorship started to reign supreme in the party with Nana Addo deciding who should be what.
In 2014, at the Tamale National Delegates Conference, the party elected Paul Afoko, a Northerner, as national chairman. He was a dye-in-the-wool UP Traditionalist and held its principles in high esteem. As the chairman, he intended to re-organise the NPP and bring back its original principles and standards.
On his assumption of office, he resourced the entire grassroot base by paying GH¢10,000.00 into each of the 275 constituencies’ accounts, a whooping GH¢2.75 million or $895,000.00. The Establishment became alarmed because it thought Afoko was going to takeover the grassroot and that could spell danger.
In fact, resourcing of the grassroot was not on the agenda of the Establishment. It wanted to starve them then once in four years, it would just give them some cash and goodies and they would do whatever was asked of them.
This was one of the reasons, Alan Kyerematen was remotely pushed out of the NPP. He had wanted to pay each polling station to constituency executive, a monthly allowance. The Establishment convinced the grassroot that it was impossible to be achieved and instead of accepting Alan as flag bearer for them to earn even a minimum of GH¢500.00 a month, they threw away that chance and preferred to go with the Establishment and earn GH¢2,000.00 every four years.
Paul Afoko’s decision to bring financial discipline into the management of the Party Office by consolidating all national office accounts into one, made the Establishment feel its control over the party was slipping from its hands.
Paul Afoko was bringing back the good old principles where constituencies were given the mandate to choose who they felt fit to become the parliamentary candidate.
Afoko objected to imposition of candidates and allowed the right and proper thing to be done. The people in the constituencies know who best can win the seat. But the Establishment led by Nana Addo would prefer to handpick candidates for the constituencies, and since Paul Afoko would not tow that line, he must go.
But instead of using the laid down party constitution of removal of elected officers as found in Article 10, where only the electoral college which elected that officer had the right to remove him or her, the National Council was used.
When Afoko was thrown out, the Establishment had its chance to impose a candidate on Korle Klottey. Nii Noi who was the grassroot favourite and elected as parliamentary candidate, was pushed out after a court ordered re-election which the Establishment’s choice, Lawyer Addison,won but went on to lose the seat to Zanetor Rawlings, a seat which Nii Nio could easily have won.
Even in the absence Paul Afoko, Sammy Crabbe and Kwabena Agyapong with the already perfectly laid down structures,the NPP won the 2016 General Elections with 169 seats out of the 275 seats in Parliament.
With Afoko out, a dye-in-the wool Nkrumaist and CPP activist, Freddy Blay, who defected to the NPP, became the acting chairman and came to meet the structures already put in place for victory to occur in the 2016 elections.
Looking very obvious that he fully wanted to fulfil the Nkrumaists’ desire to wipe out the UP Tradition from the surface of earth, after Nkrumah was ousted from power in 1966, Freddy Blay gladly pushed the NPP deep down into the ditch. Being the longest ever serving national chairman of the NPP, Freddy Blay was fully supported by H.E. Nana Akufo Addo who was alleged to be a full socialist and Nkrumaist during his university days in Legon between 1964 and 1967.
So, just as Nkrumah imposed parliamentary candidates on constituencies, even to the extent of putting some CPP members to represent constituencies they do not reside in or even hail from, Nana Addo also picked and chose who should represent the constituencies. This brought splits within the ranks which caused loss of thirty-two seats in Parliament in 2020. In the most embarrassing situation, the NPP became the Prodigal Father and had to go down on its knees and begged one MP, Hon Asiamah of Fomena, who it earlier drove out of the party, to forgive its sins and receive the party back.
After damage was done beyond repairs, the chairmanship went to Steve Ntim. He had two years to fix things up. He had to face the Establishment who during Kufuor’s regime made party and government to go separate ways, but now, it had government taking full control of the party.
Steve Ntim could not do enough and led a failed administration which allowed the imposition of candidates on constituencies. The party continued dividing with the gap going beyond the Oort Cloud. Under this current administration, party rules applied only when they benefit the Establishment. So, in the NPP some people live by the law and some die by that same law. And through many absurd actions and inactions, the party managed to make Alan Kyerematen quit. A founding member had to be sacrificed for the Establishment to have its way.
Then came the 2024 General Election and the NPP lost so miserably. For the first time in this Fourth Republic, a ruling party went so low as to secure 41.61% in the presidential elections and lost49 (over 35%) of its seats, tumbling down from 137 seats to 88, now 87 seats in Parliament.
In 2000, the incumbent party the NDC secured 43.10% in the presidential elections and lost 41 seats in Parliament. In 2008, the incumbent NPP secured 49.77% in the presidential elections and lost 21 seats in Parliament. In 2016, the incumbent NDC secured 44.53% in the presidential and lost 42 seats in Parliament. So, comparatively the NPP’s performance in 2024 was the worst for any incumbent party in this Fourth Republic. Under the full control of the Establishment, NPP lost a total of 81 seats in Parliament in two elections. No ruling party ever lost seats for its second term, except NPP in 2020.
With this very horrible record on hand, the current NPP administration is demanding a Top-Bottom Approach with the flag bearer being elected first before other officers of the party, are. This is the only way the failed administrators could get re-elected into office.
In all this, such style of doing party business and allowing the Establishment to dictate what should be done, this administration from regional to national level have done the party great harm and disservice.
One could only imagine what NPP would be like if the principled Paul Afoko had completed even one full term as national chairman. He stood against the Establishment and was leading the NPP back to its old days of principle and true democracy, until horrible lies were said against him which necessitated the Establishment to put pressure on elders in the party to suspend him from office, alongside Sammy Crabbe and Kwabena Agyapong.
Paul Afoko was never the choice of the Establishment, who earlier went on to concoct a lie about him being convicted of drug related charges when he was in the UK.
Then when he became chairman, this same Establishment concocted another lie, this time that, Afoko was plotting ways to make the NPP lose the 2016 elections. It turned out that it was rather the Establishment which was determined to destroy the only UP Tradition party in Ghana, today. And it is in the process and must be stopped.
Paul Afoko is a gem which the NPP threw away and God needs to forgive the sins of the party, and give the NPP another principled national chairman like Paul Afoko.
By Hon Daniel Dugan
