By Nana Yaw Boakye Yiadom Opoku Agyemang
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is going back to its stronghold to rekindle its fire.
On Saturday, 3 October 2026, the party will elect its new national executives in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region. For anyone who knows NPP politics, Ashanti is not just another region. It is the party’s base and its heartbeat.
Yet at the last general election, the party struggled even there. That is why many see the choice of Ashanti for this election as deliberate: go back to the base and rebuild.
The party has cleared 47 aspirants to contest nine positions. For this piece, I focus on six of them: National Chairman, National Vice-Chairperson, General Secretary, National Organiser, National Women’s Organiser and National Youth Organiser.
My team and I spoke to financiers, key advisers, founding members and influential figures in the party, both in Ghana and abroad. We also spoke to centre-right and liberal-conservative international organisations affiliated with the NPP that take a close interest in its direction.
One thing became clear from those conversations. This contest is not just about positions. It is a battle for supremacy, over who will truly control the party.
A familiar fight
This is not new in the NPP. Between 1992 and 1996, Professor Albert Adu Boahen held sway over the party. In 1996, John Agyekum Kufuor took control from him. In 1998, Kufuor defeated Nana Akufo-Addo to become flagbearer and led the party until 2007. That year, Akufo-Addo beat Alan Kyerematen for the flagbearership and dominated the party from 2007 to 2024.
In 2023, the contest pitted Akufo-Addo and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia against Kyerematen. After Kyerematen left the party, Bawumia faced Kennedy Agyapong in the 4 November 2023 presidential primary. On 31 January 2026, Bawumia beat Agyapong again for the 2028 flagbearership, winning 56.48 per cent of the vote to Agyapong’s 23.76 per cent.
This time, I believe the battle for supremacy is directly between Akufo-Addo and Bawumia.
Our main finding was about ownership. The stakeholders we spoke to were blunt about who stands behind each candidate, and about which camp each aspirant belongs to. The alignments below reflect those accounts. Several of the races also include other candidates who, in the stakeholders’ view, do not fall clearly into either camp.
National Chairman
The candidate the Akufo-Addo camp backs is Boakye Agyarko. He is a former Minister for Energy and a former presidential aspirant, and he was Akufo-Addo’s National Campaign Manager in 2012.
The Bawumia camp’s candidate is John Boadu, a former General Secretary. He has held more positions at party headquarters than almost anyone in the NPP, rising from the grassroots to the national stage.
The race also includes former National Chairman Paul Afoko and Sammy Crabbe, a former Second Vice Chairman.
National Vice-Chairperson
Thirteen aspirants are contesting this race. The Akufo-Addo bloc’s candidate is Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, a former National Youth Organiser. For years he was one of Akufo-Addo’s most trusted campaign spokespersons, and he later served as Minister for Information, Minister for Inner-City and Zongo Development, and Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority.
The Bawumia bloc’s candidate is Nana Akomea. He is a former Member of Parliament for Okaikwei South and served as Minister for Information under President Kufuor. He was also a Director of Communications for the NPP and Managing Director of the State Transport Corporation (STC). Today he is one of the chief strategists and communicators in Bawumia’s presidential campaign.
General Secretary
Two candidates are linked to the Akufo-Addo establishment. Sylvester Tetteh is a former MP for Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro and a former Chief Executive of the National Youth Authority. Eugene Boakye Antwi is a former MP for Subin and a former Deputy Minister for Works and Housing.
The Bawumia camp’s candidate is the incumbent General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, a lawyer and former Chief Executive of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA). The party’s National Treasurer, Dr Charles Dwamena, is also in the race.
National Organiser
The Akufo-Addo camp’s candidate is Ali Maiga Halidu, a former MP for Dormaa West. He is a grassroots politician known to be close to the Akufo-Addo family.
The Bawumia camp’s candidate is Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, a former MP for Tema East, former Greater Accra Regional Minister and former Deputy Minister for Transport. He is known for his strong defence of Bawumia on every platform. Six other aspirants are also contesting.
National Women’s Organiser
This is a straight fight. The Akufo-Addo camp’s candidate is Mavis Hawa Koomson, a former MP for Awutu Senya East. She served as Minister for Special Development Initiatives and later as Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, and is a known Akufo-Addo loyalist.
The Bawumia camp’s candidate is Hajia Safia Mohammed, the current Deputy National Women’s Organiser and a key Zongo mobiliser who worked closely with Bawumia’s campaign.
National Youth Organiser
Six aspirants are contesting. The Akufo-Addo bloc’s candidate is Michael Osei Boateng, popularly known as Pope, who rose through the youth wing in the old Brong Ahafo Region and later served as Ahafo Regional Organiser.
The Bawumia bloc’s candidate is Abanga Fuseini Yakubu, popularly known as NPP Abanga. He is a former TESCON organiser at the University of Ghana, a former aide in the Office of the Vice President and a known Bawumia loyalist.
Who owns the fire
After a poor showing even in its own stronghold, the NPP has gone back to where it is loved most. But whose fire will burn after 3 October is still undecided.
Will it be Akufo-Addo’s, burning to protect his legacy and keep his grip on the party he led from 2007 to 2024? Or will it be Bawumia’s, burning to build a new party machine loyal to his 2028 presidential ambition?
The delegates in Kumasi will not just be electing executives. They will be choosing who truly owns the NPP for the next four years.
That is the battle for supremacy.
Nana Yaw Boakye Yiadom Opoku Agyemang writes for the Let Truth Be Told Alliance (L.T.B.T.A.). Email: [email protected]
