The former Member of Parliament for the Assin Central Constituency, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has cautioned the leadership of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) against rushing into taking decisions that could harm the stability of the party.
He explained that recent proposal to alter the party’s constitution to enable election of the flagbearer early must be relooked at again, stressing that “Do not rush into electing a presidential candidate without first fixing the internal fractures that caused the party’s 2024 electoral defeat.”
Speaking at a strategic meeting of the party’s Constituency Chairmen Association (CCA) in Kumasi on Saturday, Mr Agyapong said a deep and honest assessment of the party’s failure was essential and must be done before any new flagbearer was chosen.
“We formed the Mike Oquaye Committee to conduct a fact-finding mission and produce credible findings. But as we sit here, those who need to understand the real causes of our defeat still don’t. All we’ve been told is that we lost because of ‘expansion.’ Is that all? Is that enough to explain the scale of our loss? Absolutely not. The issues remain unresolved,” he stated.
He warned that any attempt to fast-track the flagbearer selection process would be dangerously premature and could undermine the party’s efforts at genuine renewal.
“Let me be brutally frank: If we don’t resolve our internal problems, even if we bring Jesus Christ as our presidential candidate, we will still lose 2028. We need to know exactly what went wrong so that those of us going to campaign know what message to give the people,” he stressed.
Mr Agyapong, who has expressed interest in contesting for the party’s flagbearership slot once again said the party’s structural framework wasn’t the problem, but rather, it’s the unchecked behaviour of individuals within the structure—people he referred to as “monsters” who abuse power and eliminate dissent.
“The structure from polling stations to national is okay. What is wrong is the mindset of those we have empowered. We’ve created monsters—people who think they own the party and can victimise anyone who disagrees. That must stop.”
He also criticised the lack of collective ownership of decisions within the party. According to him, unless there’s a shared understanding of the problems, even good decisions will fail.
“If we all agree on what caused our defeat and work together to fix it, then we’ll also take collective responsibility for our future. But if we rush into decisions for selfish interest, it will come back to haunt us. Let’s not make 2028 another experiment.”
The former flagbearer aspirant further bemoaned the low level of financial transparency and support within the party. He revealed that only two individuals contributed financially to the chairmen’s meeting, despite its huge budget.
“Only two people contributed to today’s event. Where are the rest? Have we solved all these issues? Why are we rushing to the top when the base is broken?”
BY CLIFF EKUFUL