The Tested Leader for a Defining Moment: John Boadu has done it before; he will do it again

The New Patriotic Party stands at a defining moment in its history. Our greatest assignment today is not to deepen our internal divisions, but to heal them. Our greatest mission is not to relive yesterday’s disagreements, but to prepare for tomorrow’s victory.

The road to 2028 begins with one decision: choosing a National Chairman who can unite the party and lead us back to power.

The National Chairman must also enjoy a harmonious and productive working relationship with our Flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. History teaches us that parties win national elections when the Chairman and the Flagbearer work as partners with one vision, one strategy, and one united front. Unity at the top inspires confidence throughout the party.

Above all, this is not the time for experimentation. It is a time for tested leadership.

It may interest delegates to know that B.J Da Rocha, the founding National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, brought to that office valuable experience from his earlier service as the General Secretary of the Progress Party during the Second Republic in 1968/1969. That experience in party organization, administration, and political management became an important asset in laying the foundations of the NPP and guiding it through its formative years. The lesson is simple: great parties are built by leaders who understand how political parties are organized, managed and united. Party management is a skill acquired through years of service, sacrifice, and practical experience.

There is a saying that “the best person to rebuild a house is the one who knows how it was built.” The New Patriotic Party has been here before.

Many of us remember the difficult period of 2014 and 2015—one of the most challenging chapters in our party’s history. It was a time of deep divisions and internal tensions. The party witnessed the suspension of the National Chairman, the General Secretary, the Second Vice Chairman, and several constituency executives across the country. Confidence was low, morale had been shaken, and many questioned whether the NPP could recover in time for the 2016 general election.

It was also during that turbulent period that our beloved Upper East Regional Chairman, Chairman Adams Mahama, tragically lost his life—an event that profoundly saddened the entire NPP family and underscored the urgent need for peace, unity, and responsible leadership.

When hope seemed to be fading, the National Executive Committee and the National Council turned to John Boadu to help restore order, strengthen the party’s structures, and provide steady organizational leadership as Acting General Secretary together with his substantive role as National Organizer.

John Boadu did not inherit a calm and united party; he inherited a party in crisis. Through discipline, hard work, consultation, and effective organization, he played a key role in stabilizing the NPP, rebuilding confidence within the rank and file, and preparing the party for one of the most successful elections in its history.

The result is now part of our history. In the 2016 general election, the NPP returned to power with a commanding parliamentary majority, increasing its seats from 122 in 2012 to 169 in 2016—a remarkable achievement made possible through unity, effective organization, and collective determination.

When we remember John Boadu, we remember not just a man, we remember a leader who stood firm when the party needed steady hands the most.

When we remember John Boadu, we also remember the extraordinary challenge of the 2020 general election. The world was battling the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. Across many democracies, incumbent governments faced immense political headwinds, and several governing parties like UK, USA, Slovakia, Lithuania, Malawi, Zambia, Cape Verde, Seychelles etc. lost power amid the global crisis.

Despite those unprecedented circumstance, the NPP retained the presidency with unprecedented votes of 6.7million and secured another mandate to govern Ghana. It was a campaign fought under conditions unlike any before it, demanding resilience, adaptability, organization and an experienced party machinery. The strength of a tree is not measured when the sun shines, but when the storm rages. John Boadu has indeed demonstrated his leadership in the storm.

Today, the circumstances may be different, but the assignment is strikingly familiar. Once again, our party needs a leader who can unite rather than divide, reconcile rather than inflame, organize rather than polarize, and inspire confidence across every level of the party.

As our elders wisely say, “The river that has safely carried you across before is the one you trust when the floods return.”

John Boadu has helped steady the NPP through one of its darkest periods before. His experience, institutional knowledge, and commitment to the party make him uniquely equipped for the challenge before us.

He has helped rebuild the party before. He has helped lead us to victory before. At another defining moment in our history, he offers tested leadership for the task ahead.

History will remember this election not simply for who won the chairmanship, but for whether delegates chose the leadership capable of restoring the party’s winning tradition.

John Boadu has done it before. He will do it again. Let’s support him to lead the Party as National chairman.