Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko, a 2024 A flag bearer aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has questioned the party leadership’s decision to hold presidential primaries before electing national executives.
He argues that this approach defies logic, given the challenge of a flag bearer touring the entire country without grassroots representatives.
He explains that campaigning is easier when grassroots leadership exists, compared to when leadership is chosen from the top down.
Boakye Agyarko’s comments follow the NPP leadership’s decision to elect its flag bearer for the 2028 general elections before choosing party executives.
On Accra-based Sompa FM Wednesday, June 18, 2025, Agyarko explained that electing executives first would make campaigning easier.
“If you understand campaigning, why select a flag bearer now?” he asked. “With 88,917 human settlements in Ghana, it would take a flag bearer 10 years to reach them all alone. But with 210,000 executives, 2 per settlement, you could cover them in a week.” he explained.
A June 17, 2025 National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the NPP resolved to hold the party’s presidential primary on Saturday, January 31, 2026.
The meeting, held in Accra, deliberated on proposed constitutional reforms by the Professor Mike Oquaye Committee. The committee had investigated factors contributing to the party’s 2024 election defeat and made recommendations.
First Vice Chairman Danquah Smith Buttey, chaired the meeting due to Chairman Stephen Ayesu Ntim’s ill health, whose family had informed the party leadership of his need to step back from activities in the meantime.
The meeting was attended by high-ranking party members including former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong, Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, and Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako.
The party is yet to announce the opening of nominations for the presidential primaries, some aspirants have declared their intentions. They include, 2024 presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, a 2024 aspirant and former Member of Parliament for Assin Central, and Dr Bryan Abbey Acheampong, a former Minister of Food and Agriculture.
Although findings of the Prof. Oquaye Committee is not yet public, snippets leaked to the media indicate the performance of former President Akufo-Addo, his Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta as well as the candidature of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, contributed to the poor showing of the party.
The new directive is part of the recommendations by the party after the committee’s findings.
But according to Boakye Agyarko, the polling station concept was based on the idea that executives are closer to the electorates. “They should engage with them first before extending to electoral areas, constituencies, regions, and parliamentary candidates,” he said. “By the time the presidential candidate arrives, the groundwork would have already been done.”
He added that: “No presidential candidate can tour the entire country. I was Akufo-Addo’s campaign manager in 2012, couldn’t visit even 500 out of the 88,000 localities. But having executives from polling stations to regions made the work manageable.”
Electing flag bearer before executives is driven by self-greed – Boakye Agyarko tells NPP
