NPP’s Presidential Race Heats Up as Grassroots Momentum Shifts to Agyapong

A seismic shift appears underway in Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) as former Western North Regional Minister Joojo Rocky Obeng declares Kennedy Ohene Agyapong the emerging favorite for the party’s 2028 presidential ticket.

The assessment, delivered during a televised interview, signals brewing internal realignments following the 2024 elections.

“Post-2024 dynamics have fundamentally changed the calculus,” Obeng told Channel One TV’s Face to Face, noting that while Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia once stood as the presumed successor, Agyapong’s grassroots appeal has become “politically undeniable.” The firebrand former Assin Central MP, who secured a strong second place in the NPP’s last flagbearer contest, has capitalized on his anti-establishment rhetoric and direct engagement with party foot soldiers.

The NPP leadership moved swiftly to manage rising tensions, summoning all declared presidential hopefuls to a high-stakes meeting with the Steering Committee and National Council of Elders. General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong framed the June 24 summons as a unity-building exercise, though insiders suggest it aims to prevent a repeat of the 2023 primaries’ divisiveness.

Simultaneously, the party referred Bono Regional Chairman Kwame Baffoe (Abronye) to its disciplinary committee—a move analysts interpret as a warning against factional outbursts. While the specific infraction remains undisclosed, the timing underscores leadership concerns about internal cohesion as the succession battle intensifies.

Political scientist Dr. Esther Ofei-Aboagye observes: “Agyapong represents the insurgent energy that often emerges after electoral setbacks. But the NPP’s electoral college structure still favors establishment candidates—this tension will define their path to 2028.”

With Bawumia’s camp reportedly regrouping after the 2024 results and Agyapong mobilizing his loyalist base, the NPP faces its most consequential leadership transition since 2008. How it navigates this contest between continuity and change could determine whether Ghana’s ruling party maintains its dominance or fractures under competing visions.