Minority Leader in Parliament Alexander Afenyo-Markin has called on members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to put aside ego, personal ambition, and internal divisions, urging a bold return to the party’s founding values following its 2024 electoral defeat.
Speaking at the NPP’s national delegates conference held Saturday, July 19, at the University of Ghana Stadium, the Effutu MP said the party must confront its challenges honestly and rebuild from the ground up.
“We made mistakes, but we’re not a broken party; we’re a battle-tested party,” Afenyo-Markin declared.
He acknowledged the party’s defeat but rejected claims of failure, describing the loss as the result of a storm of overlapping crises.
“It was a perfect storm of adversity no government in the Fourth Republic has ever faced,” he said, citing the banking sector clean-up, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the global economic shocks from the Russia-Ukraine war. “Yet, in the driving seat, we held the line.”
He warned that internal mistrust and ideological rifts had eroded the party’s base, and that regaining public trust would require humility, discipline, and unity of purpose.
“There is room for all of us at the table, but there is no room for selfish ambition,” he said. “Let us reconnect with the grassroots, re-engage our base, and present Ghanaians with a bold new vision.”
Afenyo-Markin stressed that unity does not mean uniformity, but a shared loyalty to the NPP’s mission.
“We must rebrand ourselves with results and strong character. No one is bigger than the NPP. That belief must shape our language, tone, strategy, and posture toward one another.”
He also criticized the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing it of rebranding the NPP’s achievements while failing to deliver on its own promises.
He described the NDC’s message of change as a “sham” and pointed to what he called their poor handling of illegal mining (galamsey), rising fuel prices, and “an assault on the judiciary and the vilification of the chief justice.”
“The NDC has failed Ghana. The country deserves better,” he said.
The conference drew more than 5,000 party delegates and supporters, as well as senior figures including former Presidents John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, and former Energy Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh.
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Story by Elsie Kumah|univers.ug.edu.gh
Edited by Michelle Lartey
