The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is facing internal crises that party member and former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has described as threatening the party’s future.
In a pointed critique, he questioned how members of the National Executive and some regional chairpersons continue daily routines as if unaware of the party’s state and the mood of its supporters, noting that the NPP’s loss in the 2024 general election was decisive and disgraceful.
Yet rather than analysing the defeat and implementing remedial measures, he argued that the Party’s National Executive chose to withhold reports from public scrutiny. Prof. Frimpong-Boateng warned that this failure to reflect on past mistakes undermines the party’s prospects for future elections.
“The NPP lost the last general election by a disgraceful margin, and instead of documenting and analysing the factors that led to that painful and disgraceful defeat, and taking remedial measures to prevent future disgrace, the National Executive, hiding behind a spineless National Executive Council (NEC) decided to hide a hastily prepared report from the Ghanaian public”
Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation
The former minister expressed alarm over the planned timing and structure of the January 2026 flagbearer election. Traditionally, the party elects a flagbearer two years before a general election when in opposition, but the NPP has adopted a “top-down” approach nearly three years ahead of the 2028 polls.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng condemned the move as engineered to favour the re-election of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the party’s flagbearer, warning that such manipulation risks disenfranchising party members and fostering apathy.
“The incompetent national executive members and their puppet masters that led the party to the abominable and disgraceful defeat are orchestrating these schemes just because they want their preferred candidate to be elected again, whether by fair or foul means, so that they would have a chance of being elected again to the National Executive Committee.
“Whom do the National Executive and the NEC think they are deceiving?”
Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation
He described previous internal elections, particularly those that elected Dr. Bawumia, as marked by coercion, bribery, and intimidation. According to him, delegates were allegedly pressured to vote for the establishment candidate in the past, creating widespread dissatisfaction and low participation.
The Prof. linked this internal discontent, alongside issues such as economic mismanagement and environmental negligence, to the NPP’s loss in the December 2024 elections.
Manipulation and Partisan Control
He warned that the current hierarchy might repeat past manipulations in the upcoming January 2026 elections, citing one regional chairperson who had openly pledged to ensure Dr. Bawumia’s victory – a move he described as part of a broader strategy to manipulate election registers and internal voting procedures.
The Prof. underscored that political power should not be concentrated in the hands of a few individuals, their families, or close associates and urged those scheming towards this end to change their ways.
“What do they take us for? Idiots? No. This fraud must be prevented. The theft must not be allowed to go on. Those who engineered the “top-down” scheme don’t want clean elections.
“I had always believed that in Ghana the NPP is the only major political party whose foundations are based on the principles of the rule of law, respect for the rights, opinions and dignity of the individual, fundamental human rights, pluralism and above all the separation of powers”
Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation
He criticized the Chairman of the Council of Elders for allowing the party to deteriorate thus and suggested postponing the January 2026 election in favour of the traditional down-to-top approach. Allowing the election to proceed under the current management, he warned, would advantage Dr. Bawumia and “undermine the legitimacy of the process.”
Prof Frimpong-Boateng reflected on the tenure of the Akufo-Addo government, highlighting issues such as patronage, environmental degradation, and weak governance.
He noted that the party, even in opposition, has failed to condemn current government excesses, particularly the escalation of galamsey and destruction of water bodies. These failures, he said, highlight a lack of moral authority to guide the party effectively.
“A resurgent NPP must have the courage to process all the above and in the end come out with people Ghanaians can trust to run the party and a future government,” he said, warning against diversionary tactics and manipulation by those seeking to rig the January 2026 flagbearer elections.
Unity and Vigilance
Prof Frimpong-Boateng expressed concern over recent efforts by former President Nana Akufo-Addo to convene a breakfast meeting with the five presidential aspirants, which he argued inadvertently supported the divisive top-down process and could entrench divisions rather than resolve them.
Using a Ghanaian proverb, he cautioned party delegates: “One cannot muddy the river upstream and then rush secretly downstream to complain that the river has become muddy and needs treatment.” He called on NPP members to reject manipulation and ensure fair elections.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng challenged the party to choose leaders who respect the grassroots and Ghanaian interests rather than the ambitions of a few elites.
He questioned whether the party should allow individuals responsible for past economic mismanagement and environmental neglect to continue controlling the NPP post-January 2026, concluding that for the NPP to remain credible, it must resist internal corruption, respect its democratic foundations, and prioritise transparency in its electoral processes.
“Do we want an all-inclusive NPP or one that is controlled by people, including an arrogant ‘Prime Minister’, a declared fugitive, and their other ‘Nouveau Riche’ family members and friends to continue to control the Party post January 2026? Niemals!”
Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation
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