John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Akufo-Addo have reportedly petitioned against NPP’s early conference
Fourteen out of the sixteen regional chairmen of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have expressed strong opposition to a proposal submitted by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, which seeks the postponement of the party’s early national delegates conference.
So far, five individuals have already declared their intention to contest for the flagbearership race. The respected individuals in the party include former Minister of Education Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Bosomtwe Constituency; former Minister of Food and Agriculture Dr Bryan Acheampong, MP; former Member of Parliament for Assin Central Kennedy Agyapong; former NPP General Secretary Kwabena Adjei Agyapong; former Minister of Energy Boakye Agyarko; and former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
Speaking to Kumasi Mail ahead of the NPP’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for Monday, July 14, 2025, one of the regional chairmen from the Bono Region disclosed that an overwhelming majority of the regional chairmen support the early congress.
“I’m a member of the regional chairmen’s caucus, and I can say on authority that 14 out of the 16 regional chairmen are in favour of holding the congress early. Only two oppose it,” he said.
He emphasised the urgent need for the party to elect a flagbearer by January 2026, citing internal disunity and the aftermath of the party’s significant loss to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2024 general elections.
“Our party is in a state of crisis, grappling with disunity and internal power struggles. Electing a flagbearer early is the only way to restore order and unity,” he noted.
Referencing the recent Ablekuma North parliamentary primary re-run, the chairman lamented the lack of leadership in the party.
“Look at what happened in Ablekuma North. The General Secretary, acting on NEC’s instruction, announced that the party would not contest the re-run in 19 polling stations. Yet, our 2024 parliamentary candidate, Akua Afriyie, defied that and contested with support from some members of the party. That incident clearly shows how divided we are,” he added.
Checks by Kumasi Mail revealed that 16 out of 20 within the party’s parliamentary caucus also confirmed strong support for the early national conference. A member of the caucus told Kumasi Mail that MPs are unified in backing an early congress to mitigate the party’s internal challenges.
“In Parliament, we’ve agreed that early congress is the way forward. We lost the 2024 elections to the NDC by nearly two million votes. We can’t close that gap without early preparation and unity,” the source said.
The MP also dismissed former President Akufo-Addo’s reported proposal to revert to an up-bottom-to-down approach in electing party executives.
“If such a proposal comes up, it won’t last 10 minutes in discussion. It will be rejected outright,” he stated.
The up-bottom-to-down proposal, reportedly gaining traction among some outgoing executives and grassroots members, seeks to restore influence to lower-tier party structures in the decision-making process.
However, opposition to the plan remains strong at the regional and parliamentary levels. Among national executives, only Acting National Chairman Smith Danquah Butey is believed to be hesitant about the early congress.
However, insiders say he is likely to reconsider his position before the NEC meets next week.
Meanwhile, you can watch GhanaWeb TV’s exclusive interview with Arathejay below:
You can also watch the latest news in Twi on GhanaWeb TV below:
