Battle for NPP chairmanship: Who gets government support?

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is preparing to go to the polls next year to elect leaders who will steer its affairs in a bid to retain power in the 2024 general elections.

One of the positions to be keenly contested is that of the National chairman, currently being occupied by Freddie Blay.

It is, however, not officially communicated who the contenders for this position are, but there are speculations that some of the party stalwarts including Professor Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi, Dr. Kofi Kodua Sarpong, Peter Mac Manu, Stephen Ntim, Nana Akomea and Fred Oware are likely to contest.

According to the veteran journalist, Ben Ephson, who has written analytical materials on elections in Ghana and related topics, though these persons have the potential to vie and win, what gives a person more urge over others is ‘who the government supports.’

“If say, two candidates are from Ashanti Region, they are likely to split the votes. More important is who the government is backing. That is a major factor. It helped Freddie Blay win,” the pollster told Captain Smart, host of Angel FM’s ‘Anopa Bofo?’ morning show on Thursday, February 4, 2021.

In his analysis, he mentioned that some candidates including Ameyaw Akumfi who is from the former Brong Ahafo Region which is now split into three -Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions- with Stephen Ntim, will find it difficult because people from the same region are likely to split their votes.

Mr Ben Ephson also noted that should Nana Akomea, Chief Executive Officer of Intercity State Transport Corporation (STC) and Fred Oware, CEO of Bui Power Authority contest, their candidature would negatively impact that of Stephen Ntim. This is because, for Nana Akomea for instance, he will “appeal to a lot of delegates from different regions including Greater Accra and Eastern. He is a well-known and respected person in the party.”

One other person mentioned who is likely to be challenged if he were to contest, is Paul Afoko, a former Chairman of the party. This is because in Mr Ephson’s words, “some people have not forgiven him.”

However, Paul Afoko’s position on the issue has been publicly stated. According to his spokesperson, Nana Yaw Osei, “he has no interest in racing for the chairmanship position. He may contest in the future but as things stand now, he has not indicated any intention to contest.”

It is nonetheless unclear who will win, should any of the aforementioned persons contest in the national elections next year.