Party handles, party bias? Ken Agyapong’s camp cries foul over Bawumia advantage

The campaign team of New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer aspirant, Kennedy Agyapong, has accused the party’s national leadership of bias in favour of former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in the ongoing flagbearer race.

In a statement, campaign spokesperson Kwasi Kwarteng described the use of the NPP’s official social media handles to stream only Dr Bawumia’s nomination filing as “a betrayal of the very unity our national leadership claims to preach.”

He argued that such actions were part of a pattern of behaviour by party leaders to give Dr Bawumia “an undue advantage,” similar to what he alleged happened in the last primary in 2023. “These unfortunate acts were among the reasons for our poor performance in past elections. Yet, clearly, we seem not to have learnt any lessons,” Mr Kwarteng stated.

According to him, the NPP’s electoral decline under Dr Bawumia’s leadership was stark. “Under his watch, we recorded the worst results in our party’s history: a 31 per cent drop in national votes, a 16 per cent decline in northern votes, a 33% fall in southern votes, and virtually no support from the Zongo communities,” he claimed.

Mr Kwarteng stressed that at a time when the party should be focused on rebuilding, its leadership was instead “shamelessly projecting him as the establishment choice by giving him undue advantages and platforms.”

He cautioned that if the trend continued, other aspirants would have no choice but to “take their destiny into their own hands.” He added: “The grassroots would not be forced into silence while the future of the party is mortgaged for one individual. Never!”

The NPP is expected to elect its flagbearer for the 2028 elections next January, with Dr Bawumia and Mr Agyapong among the frontrunners.