Former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Paul Afoko, has appealed to party members to set aside their differences and work together to rebuild the party ahead of the 2028 general election.
Afoko said unity is essential if the NPP hopes to regain the confidence of Ghanaians and return to power.
“If we don’t unite, there’s no power. Power wants unity. Power doesn’t like division,” he said.
Call for reconciliation
Afoko, who is seeking a fresh mandate as the party’s National Chairman, made the appeal during a meeting with constituency executives and delegates in Tamale as part of his campaign tour of the Northern Region.
He told party faithful that he had moved on from the circumstances surrounding his removal from office in 2015 and urged members to do the same.
“In the name of God, everything that has happened to me, forget it. We must unite.”
He also met traditional leaders and party stalwarts to seek their support ahead of the NPP’s national executive elections.
Consultations with party leaders
Afoko said he has held discussions with key figures within the party as part of efforts to promote reconciliation.
According to him, those consultations have involved the NPP’s 2028 flag bearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, former Presidents Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and John Agyekum Kufuor, Kennedy Agyapong, Bryan Acheampong, members of the National Executive Committee, the Council of Elders and regional executives.
He said his campaign is centred on bringing every faction of the party together to rebuild trust and prepare for the next general election.
Internal divisions blamed for 2024 defeat
Afoko attributed the NPP’s poor performance in the 2024 general election to internal disunity and the disqualification of some parliamentary aspirants during previous internal contests.
He said those decisions led some aggrieved aspirants to contest as independent candidates, while others withheld their support for the party, contributing to the loss of several parliamentary seats.
“The people are the source of political power. They decide who should represent them, so you cannot impose a candidate on them.”
‘Three Rs’ agenda
To reposition the party, Afoko unveiled what he described as the “Three Rs” agenda — Reunite, Rebuild and Recapture.
He explained that the strategy aims to reunite party members, strengthen grassroots structures and position the NPP to recapture political power in 2028.
Afoko also argued that the NPP has a strategic advantage because it already has a presidential candidate, unlike the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), which is yet to choose its flag bearer for the next election.
Concern over northern strongholds
The former National Chairman expressed concern over the party’s declining electoral fortunes across the five northern regions.
He noted that the NPP lost all its parliamentary seats in the Upper East and Upper West regions, while its representation in the Savannah Region dropped to one seat.
According to him, the party’s seats in the North East Region also declined from four to three, while its representation in the Northern Region fell from nine seats to six.
Afoko singled out the loss of the Yendi parliamentary seat, once considered one of the NPP’s strongest constituencies in the north, as a clear example of how internal divisions have weakened the party.
