Physician, author, and former New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential aspirant, Dr. Arthur Kobina Kennedy, has raised serious concerns about internal leadership practices within the NPP, citing what he describes as a persistent problem of “leadership bias.”
Speaking on Ghana Tonight on TV3, Thursday, May 1, Dr. Kennedy criticized the apparent lack of transparency and fairness in the party’s internal processes, particularly regarding access to critical post-election reports and the perceived preferential treatment of certain candidates—most notably, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
“The party has had problems with leadership bias, or at least perceptions of the same,” he stated.
“So now we set up the Mike Ocquaye committee to investigate the reasons why we lost an election. People wondered why that committee was composed the way it was. They finished their work, and it is not shared with the general membership of the party, which is reasonable sometimes.”
However, Dr. Kennedy noted what he saw as a troubling imbalance in access to information.
“It is clear from the kind of things that Dr. Bawumia is saying on the Thank You tour that he is privy to the contents of the report, whilst other people who may ultimately, and as of right, contest for the leadership are not privy to the contents of the report. That is not fair.”
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He went on to argue that this lack of equal access undermines trust within the party and tilts the playing field, even as the party moves into a crucial rebuilding phase following its electoral loss.
Dr. Kennedy also questioned the timing and tone of the NPP’s ongoing “Thank You” tour, led by Dr. Bawumia, suggesting it is less about healing the party and more about political positioning.
“Even the timing and tone of the tour suggest that the party is rushing to secure political ground rather than rebuilding trust from within,” he observed.
On the matter of party unity, he criticized Dr. Bawumia for indirectly blaming former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the challenges faced during their administration, implying that such rhetoric is divisive.
“Dr. Bawumia, in effect, is going after the former president for reasons that look quite obvious,” he said. “But if we are not trying to excite disaffection, it sounds like some of the things that Dr. Bawumia is saying and implying and indirectly attributing to the president [former] would not engender goodwill in the party and would lead to rancorous debate.”
