NPP Elder Warns Current Leadership Steering Party Toward Destruction

Founding member and elder of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe, has warned that the party’s current leadership is steering it toward destruction by abandoning internal democracy and grassroots participation. Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday, January 30, 2026, Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe said the party’s failure to rebuild from the grassroots following its electoral defeat undermines its core values of integrity, unity and democracy.

The veteran statesman argued that after losing power following an eight year tenure, a political party’s first priority must be a humble return to its base. He outlined a systematic bottom up model, from polling station to constituency and then regional, as the only legitimate way to rebuild. The proper way is to organize from the grassroots to the top, he emphasized, noting that has always been the tradition of the party but unfortunately did not happen this time.

According to Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe, any political party that suffers a major electoral defeat must return to the grassroots to assess what went wrong, engage supporters and rebuild its structures from the ground up. A party that has been badly damaged in a general election cannot proceed the way the NPP is going now, he stated. You must go back to the grassroots, listen to them, let them tell you exactly how they feel, and allow even the broader population to understand why you failed.

While he stopped short of declaring the NPP doomed, he maintained that current leadership is taking the party in the wrong direction. I won’t say the party is doomed, but the leadership at the moment is leading the party into destruction, he said. He lamented what he described as the rise of monocracy within the party, insisting that the NPP’s founding fathers, who upheld integrity, fairness and internal democracy, would not have tolerated the current situation.

Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe also criticized what he described as the manipulation and imposition of candidates, as well as the monetization of delegates, arguing that such practices weaken political parties and erode public trust. These are the very things that destroy political parties, he said, adding that factionalism has now taken hold of the NPP. He warned that the factional nature of the party’s current presidential contest would make it extremely difficult for any eventual winner to unite the party.

His remarks come just one day before the NPP’s high stakes presidential primary scheduled for Saturday, January 31, 2026. The party will select its flagbearer for the 2028 general elections from among five aspirants: former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, former Assin Central Member of Parliament Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, former Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, former Food and Agriculture Minister Dr. Bryan Acheampong, and former NPP General Secretary Kwabena Agyei Agyepong.

The five aspirants signed a peace pact on January 22 committing to a non violent and unified campaign. However, internal polling data suggests a lopsided race, with Dr. Bawumia currently favored to lead the party into the 2028 elections according to the final Global InfoAnalytics poll released this week. A total of 211,849 delegates are expected to vote at 333 polling centres across 276 constituencies nationwide.

Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe’s criticisms reflect longstanding concerns about the NPP’s approach to rebuilding after its December 2024 electoral defeat. Earlier on January 23, speaking on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News, he contended that the party has abandoned the core organizational principles established by its founders. The correct approach is to explain the party’s defeat to members at the grassroots level and organize them from the polling station level upwards through the constituency and regional levels before reaching the national level, he explained at the time.

The elder statesman has consistently emphasized that rebuilding the party from bottom to top is the only path to sustainable success. He has warned that failure to do so would deepen internal divisions and make it nearly impossible for the party to reclaim power in 2028. We have clearly seen factions in the party, and whoever wins will struggle to bring the party together, he noted. We have seen this before, and it completely destroyed the party in the past.

As the NPP prepares for its internal elections, Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe advised delegates and aspirants to reflect deeply on the party’s history and return to its foundational principles. He pointed to early pillars like Bernard Joao Da Rocha and Reginald Reynolds Amponsah, whom he described as selfless and committed to public good, contrasting them with what he characterized as a current culture driven by pursuit of wealth and personal gain.

The upcoming primary will serve as a test of whether the NPP can unify behind its choice or if the grassroots neglect Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe warns about will undermine the party’s prospects for 2028. If we truly want to win back the soul of the party, then we must do things democratically, he concluded.