Adwoa Safo says NPP Election Review Committee lacks credibility

Former Dome-Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has fiercely criticised the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) committee investigating the party’s 2024 electoral defeat, describing it as “bogus” and lacking credibility.

According to her, the committee was not set up to conduct an impartial fact-finding mission but rather to push a predetermined agenda.

"It is a very bogus committee. A committee that is put together just to find certain facts and push a particular candidate away from the candidacy so that we can bring our own—you call that a credible fact-finding committee?" she questioned.

Adwoa Safo expressed concerns over the appointment of Prof Mike Oquaye as the chair of the committee, arguing that he had a conflict of interest. She challenged him to first explain why his son, Mike Oquaye Junior, lost the Dome-Kwabenya parliamentary seat before assessing the party’s broader defeat.

"If Prof Mike Oquaye thinks he has integrity and credibility, I want to see the first page of his fact-finding report explaining why his son Mike Oquaye Junior lost the Dome-Kwabenya seat. If he does that with transparency, without bias or prejudice, then I will accept any findings he presents against Dr Bawumia. Otherwise, that report will not hold in this party," she asserted.

She further questioned why the party did not appoint a more neutral figure to lead the probe.

"His son has lost, and you think he is the best person to lead a fact-finding committee that includes that very constituency? Why not choose an independent person? Couldn't we find anyone else in the party to chair it?" she asked.

Defending Bawumia and questioning the Committee’s intentions

The former MP rejected any attempt to blame the party’s defeat solely on Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s 2024 flagbearer. She suggested that the committee was being used as a tool to discredit him.

"We know what we know, and we have heard what we’ve heard. He shouldn’t come and tell us that we should blame everything on Bawumia because Ghanaians don’t want him and that we won’t market him again," she stated.

Adwoa Safo also pointed out discrepancies between the committee’s report and findings from a separate election review conducted in the Ashanti Region, which she claimed did not blame Bawumia for the party’s loss. She suggested that a more experienced individual, such as Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, should have been given the responsibility of leading the review.

"The Ashanti report does not blame Bawumia for the party’s defeat, and that is a credible report. Why couldn’t the same person have done this work for the party? Who has more parliamentary and electoral experience than Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu?" she questioned.

Adwoa Safo warned that if the committee’s findings were politically motivated, it could further divide the party and hinder efforts to regain power in future elections.

"If this report is manipulated, it means we are not serious about rebuilding, regrouping, or recapturing power," she cautioned.

Her comments add to the growing debate within the NPP over the causes of the party’s defeat and the path forward as it seeks to reorganise ahead of the next election.