One of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) top lawmakers, Patrick Boamah, Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, has issued a sobering warning as internal dissatisfaction grows within the party, insisting that the party is in dire need of immediate reform before choosing a flagbearer for the 2028 elections.
Speaking frankly on the growing disquiet among party faithful, Hon. Boamah, a four-term MP and Chairman of the Subsidiaries Committee of Parliament, pulled no punches about the NPP’s historic defeat in the 2024 general elections.
The party garnered just 41.75% of the national vote, down sharply from 51.3% in 2020, and saw its total votes drop by nearly two million, from over 6.7 million in 2020 to 4.6 million in 2024.
This crushing loss, he insisted, requires far more than just scheduling early congresses or announcing venues to select new leaders. Hon. Boamah questioned whether the party truly understood the causes of its electoral collapse.
“That was the reason why we, as a party, asked Professor Mike Oquaye and his team to travel across the country to gather reasons that led to our defeat and our abysmal performance, but the Oquaye Committee report has not been made public, even to senior party members like me.
Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah, MP for Okaikwei Central
“As a very senior member of the party… I still don’t have a copy of the report,” he said, adding that every constituency should have been given access to the relevant findings to assess their own local challenges and begin rebuilding accordingly.
“In terms of the constituency level, every constituency has its own issues. There are people within every constituency who have issues that they thought they should have been given the opportunity to engage the Oquaye committee over a period. If you are touring 276 constituencies, you have to take your time.”
Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah, MP for Okaikwei Central
Prescription Without Diagnosis
The MP warned that the party was attempting to offer “prescriptions without proper diagnosis.” In his view, announcing early congresses or choosing a flagbearer without a comprehensive postmortem and structural reforms amounts to “putting the cart before the horse.”
He criticised the current top-down approach in which the National Council is perceived to be making major decisions—like the date and venue for the party’s next congress—without broad-based consultation or sufficient introspection.
While he acknowledged that the Minority Leader represents the caucus at steering committee meetings, he insisted that many consequential decisions fall outside the authority of the National Council and ought to be made at a broader party conference.
More urgently, Hon. Boamah questioned the legitimacy of allowing the same crop of party executives—whose tenure is nearly over and whose stewardship led to the defeat—to oversee the selection of a new presidential candidate.
“The tenure of office of the polling station executives, the coordinators, constituency executives, the regional executives, and the national executives will come to an end very soon.
“And are we saying that they are going to be the focal group to elect a candidate for the party to run for the elections in 2028, when their time is near, when their performance produced the results that we had?”
Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah, MP for Okaikwei Central
To him, such a move defies logic and violates the spirit of the party’s constitution. According to Hon. Boamah, the time has come for a total overhaul—not just of personnel, but of structure and attitude.
“Some polling station executives did what they had to do; some didn’t. But there are many others waiting in the wings who want to bring fresh energy, new strategy, and help the party regain public trust”.
Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah, MP for Okaikwei Central
Yet those potential reformers are being sidelined, he suggested, by an entrenched leadership unwilling to cede space.
Leadership Vacuum
The situation is made more precarious, Hon. Boamah noted, by the current leadership vacuum within the party.
“Our national chairman is indisposed. A big party like ours is now on the shoulders of the general secretary. The acting chairman, who is the first vice chairman, has even called for all national officers to vacate their positions”.
Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah, MP for Okaikwei Central
Hon Boamah lamented, describing the internal state of the party as one bordering on chaos and personal interest, with less dedication to the rebuilding of the party.
He also expressed dismay that the party has not engaged reputable independent bodies such as the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), or the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) to conduct an objective analysis of its electoral defeat and path forward.
“It’s in our general interest to know, because you can’t offer a prescription to somebody when you haven’t done the diagnostics well”.
Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah, MP for Okaikwei Central
Looking to the past, Hon. Boamah recalled the critical reforms and leadership realignments that allowed the NPP to elect President John Agyekum Kufuor and won power in the 2000 and 2004 elections.
He called on the party’s elder statesmen—particularly former Presidents Kufuor and Akufo-Addo—to rise above partisan calculations and help steer the party back to its core values and organisational discipline.
“This party produced them. If we are going through this turmoil, we ask that the core people around the table have a heart-to-heart chat. I’ve stated on various platforms that I’m against this approach of selecting a flag bearer when we haven’t fixed the party.
“We need to fix the party. We need to fix the party to make the party attractive again to be able to win a general election”.
Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah, MP for Okaikwei Central
Disconnection and Loss of Public Trust
In Hon. Boamah’s view, the central problem is a disconnect between the party leadership and the grassroots, coupled with a loss of public trust.
“What led to our abysmal performance was the lack of public trust in our party. And we need to build that public trust and confidence again.”
Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah, MP for Okaikwei Central
He warned that unless the NPP becomes “an organised and disciplined party,” it will not be able to elect a viable presidential candidate, let alone win a general election.
Hon. Boamah concluded with a blunt warning: the party cannot continue with business as usual. “Those declaring to be flagbearers—what are we standing on? What platform are we going to stand on to win a general election?” he asked rhetorically.
For him, any attempt to push forward with flagbearer elections before addressing these foundational issues would be tantamount to political suicide.
The message from Patrick Boamah is clear: the NPP must first fix itself—structurally, emotionally, and strategically—before it can credibly present itself as a governing alternative to Ghanaians in 2028.
For him, anything less would be a betrayal of the party’s legacy and a missed opportunity to recover from its most humiliating defeat in electoral history.
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