Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was the President of Ghana from 2017 to 2024
Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has admonished the five persons contesting in the upcoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential primary to embrace unity.
Speaking at a peace pact signing event held for the contenders in the race, in Accra, the former president urged the five men to accept the results of the election and work together for the party’s victory in the future elections.
Citing examples from the party’s past primaries, Akufo-Addo said that the party remaining united after the polls would be a testament to its robust democratic credentials.
“While the ballot must decide who becomes what, the true test of our internal democracy lies in the conduct of winners and losers alike, before, during and after the contest. That lesson was reaffirmed in 1992 after the first presidential primaries of the New Patriotic Party. Once the party chose Professor Adu Boahen as our flagbearer, all the other aspirants, including Dr Kofi Dsane-Selby, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, and Dr Kwame Safo, closed ranks and supported him.
“I was campaign manager of the flagbearer at the time, and I saw firsthand what unity meant, how discipline, sacrifice and collective purpose strengthened the party even under the most difficult conditions of the time. That spirit must guide us still,” he stated.
Akufo-Addo then went on to draw inspiration from the Bible to make the point that Ghanaians would never vote for the NPP if the party is not united.
“Fellow patriots, a party that cannot manage victory with humility or defeat with dignity cannot expect to win the confidence of the Ghanaian people. As we are reminded, a house divided against itself cannot stand. Such a house is certainly not attractive to the electorate,” he said.
The NPP presidential primary is slated for January 31, 2026, and it is meant to elect the party’s flagbearer and presidential candidate for the 2028 general election.
The five main aspirants competing for the flagbearer position are former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, former Assin Central legislator Kennedy Agyapong, former Minister of Food and Agriculture Dr Bryan Acheampong, former Minister of Education Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, and former NPP General Secretary Kwabena Agyei Agyepong.
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