The 2024 New Patriotic Party (NPP) Vice Presidential candidate, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, also known as Napo, has advised members of the party to desist from using tribal and religious rhetoric in internal campaigns.
He has cautioned that such conduct could reinforce negative stereotypes and undermine the party’s national appeal.
In a statement on his Facebook page after he joined the campaign of Samira Bawumia in the Manhyia South constituency on Saturday, January 10, 2026, Napo expressed serious concern over what he described as creeping bigotry within the party as it prepares to elect a flagbearer for the 2028 general elections.
“This is a party that has been branded tribal; we cannot perpetuate it,” he declared. He warned that divisive utterances by some party members lend weight to longstanding accusations that the NPP is an ethnically driven political organisation.
But, he insisted the NPP is not an ethnically driven political organisation.
“We are democratic and we uphold common humanity,” Napo said to applause from party members. “Democracy doesn’t go in for tribe, religion or gender. It is the individual. One man, one vote. And if we want power, we want to present a person who will be convincing to the generality of the electorate.”
In a statement on his Facebook page, he said, “Hajia Samira Bawumia’s campaign tour of the Ashanti region made a stop at my beloved Manhyia South, and it was an honour to once again engage my esteemed delegates in the constituency.
“I reiterated my call for us to unite behind the elephant, regardless of who sits on it, and reaffirmed the message I have shared consistently across the country: Dr Mahamudu Bawumia remains the only candidate with the clarity, experience and national appeal to lead our party to victory in the shortest possible time.”
He called for immediate return to the party’s core democratic values and warned that failing to do so could further erode public trust and relevance. “We must get out of this.”
His remarks come at a time when internal jostling for the NPP’s 2028 presidential primary is already stirring tensions with the part, with some aspirants and supporters engaging in tribal and religious politics.
He stressed that the NPP must choose a leader not on the basis of ethnic or religious affiliation, but one who is capable of addressing the needs of all Ghanaians. “Can this man we are presenting help solve problems for the community at large so the benefit spreads across the board for all?” he asked.
By Benjamin Aidoo
