Former NPP Second National Vice Chairman, Samuel Azu Crabbe, has outlined the qualities he believes the next flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should possess to propel the party to victory in the 2028 general elections.
Mr. Crabbe, who had earlier indicated that a flag bearer on their own cannot secure victory for the party, admits that there are certain qualities the individual should possess in order to rally the people behind them for victory.
He admits the opposition party is down, advocating for a flag bearer who can pick up the pieces and appeal to the conscience of the public.
“We’re really down. So you need somebody who can excite people. You want somebody who can speak to the grassroots, to the public, to the so-called downtrodden, to people who are out there struggling and want a champion,” he said while speaking on Hot Issues on TV3 Sunday, August 31, 2025.
According to him, “some people even want excitement,” and therefore “need that kind of person who can come and shake things up” to secure victory for the party.
He cited the case of U.S. President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, where Trump was brought in to energise the people and rally support for their victory.
Crabbe noted, however, that a candidate’s traits alone can’t guarantee success unless the party has built a strong foundation and chosen a candidate who resonates with the citizenry.
“But if we have built a strong institution and we bring somebody who is excitable, somebody who can get people to be dancing and make people running around and jumping and that kind of thing, then the establishment will carry the person,” he added.
The former Second National Vice Chair also explained that the party’s support for the candidate will be further enhanced by stabilising the individual after the party assumes power. “Carry the person, [first]. And then when we get into government, they will stabilise the person.”
The NPP is set to organise its presidential primary on Saturday, January 31, 2026, to elect a flag bearer for the December 2028 general elections. This will be the first time the party will be electing its flag bearer before choosing parliamentary candidates and other executives at the grassroots level.
The development forms part of the amendments proposed by the nine-member committee established to investigate the party’s defeat in the December 2024 elections, which were approved through voting at the emergency congress held on Saturday, July 19, 2025.
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