Media personality and New Patriotic Party (NPP) member Okatakyie Afrifa-Mensah has accused the party’s leadership of failing to protect its grassroots members from internal manipulation, warning that the trend could undermine the party’s chances in the 2028 general elections.
In a statement shared Monday on the social media page of his online programme, For The Records, Afrifa-Mensah argued that a party unable to safeguard its own members “has no business asking Ghana for the keys to govern in 2028.”
He alleged that in several constituencies, sitting Members of Parliament were influencing the party’s delegate albums by removing delegates they considered unfavourable and replacing them with loyalists.
“If this party cannot protect the people who carry its flag from polling station to polling station, what exactly is it asking Ghana to hand it in 2028?” he questioned.
Afrifa-Mensah further claimed that some court orders relating to internal party disputes were being ignored while the leadership remained inactive.
He warned that delegates who felt unfairly removed or sidelined were unlikely to campaign enthusiastically for the party in future elections.
“Loyalty does not work like a tap where you can humiliate a man, strip him of a position he earned, watch the leadership shrug, and expect enthusiasm from him years later,” he said.
On reports that the party may exempt some sitting female MPs from competitive parliamentary primaries under an affirmative action policy, Afrifa-Mensah questioned the rationale.
He argued that if the NPP genuinely wanted to advance women’s representation, it should begin by opening senior national leadership positions to women, including the office of General Secretary.
Afrifa-Mensah also referred to past internal disputes involving constituencies such as Fomena, Bekwai, Gomoa Central and Asante Akyem North, saying they demonstrated the political cost of what he described as unfair internal processes.
He further cited what he described as an unconfirmed but persistent rumour that some sitting MPs were being asked to contribute GH¢1 million each to the party as a development levy in connection with efforts to protect incumbents from internal contests. He did not provide evidence for the claim.
“If there is any truth to it, this is not party financing but the institutionalisation of the same protectionism that has already cost the party seats,” he said.
Afrifa-Mensah concluded by urging the NPP leadership to reform its internal electoral processes, warning that failure to do so could lead to renewed internal divisions and electoral setbacks.
“Fix the house first, or watch the people fix it for you at the ballot box,” he cautioned.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
