John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Akufo-Addo have reportedly petitioned against NPP’s early conference
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has rejected a proposal from Presidents Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and John Agyekum Kufuor for the postponement of the party’s early national delegates conference.
According to information available to GhanaWeb, the National Executive Committee of the party at a meeting in Accra on Monday, July 14, 2025, rejected the said proposal.
The rejection of the petition implies that the conference will go on as scheduled.
The Chairman of the Planning Committee of the National Delegates Conference, Joseph Osei-Owusu, popularly known as Joe Wise, announced that a total of 5,675 delegates are expected to attend the two-day conference scheduled for Thursday, July 18, and Friday, July 19, 2025, at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium.
Speaking to journalists at a media briefing at the NPP Headquarters, Asylum Down, Accra, on Thursday, July 10, 2025, Osei-Owusu emphasised that all conference activities will take place exclusively at the stadium, with necessary logistical and security arrangements already underway to ensure a smooth and incident-free gathering.
Touching on concerns raised over recent reports of a COVID-19 incident at the University of Ghana, Osei-Owusu assured the public that the party has taken comprehensive steps to protect attendees.
Osei-Owusu disclosed that the primary objective of this year’s delegates’ conference is to deliberate on proposed amendments to the NPP’s constitution.
“The agenda is to consider amendments proposed by the Constitutional Review Committee. A 300-page document has already been circulated by the General Secretary to all regional and constituency branches,” he explained.
“In addition, a 64-page summary has also been made available. However, all of this will be distilled into specific motions upon which delegates will vote.”
GhanaWeb early reported that the majority of the NEC members, including the party’s regional chairpersons and members of Parliament on the committee, were against the proposal by the former presidents.
One of the regional chairpersons, according to Kumasi Mail, disclosed that an overwhelming majority of the regional chairpersons 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 the 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.
A member of Parliament is also reported to have said that they 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.
