“You don’t roof before the foundation”: Boakye Agyarko criticises NPP’s proposal to elect flagbearer on January 31
A member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Boakye Agyarko, has raised concerns over a proposal by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to elect a flagbearer before choosing constituency, regional, and national executives.
The party officially announced Saturday, January 31, 2026, as the date for its presidential primary to elect a flagbearer for the 2028 general elections. The announcement was made by the party’s General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua, following a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) held on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. The decision was subsequently endorsed by the party’s National Council.
However, in a statement issued on Wednesday, June 18, Mr Agyarko warned that prioritising the flagbearer election ahead of other key internal elections could lead to significant problems for the party.
The former Energy Minister described the NEC’s decision as “strategically unsound, politically indefensible, and organisationally reckless,” stressing the potential risks of sidelining the established electoral order.
"I have followed with keen interest—and deep concern—the outcome of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on Tuesday, 17th June 2025, in Accra, where it was announced that the party will hold polling station executive elections on 6th December 2025, followed by the flagbearer election on 31st January 2026, while deferring elections for electoral area coordinators, constituency, regional, and national executives to dates yet to be announced," the statement read.
"Will you roof a building before laying the foundation? What manner of political logic is this? Where in any world—be it politics, construction, or common sense—do you install a roof before laying a foundation?" he asked.
According to Mr Agyarko, it is politically misguided for a party like the NPP to elect a flagbearer before choosing the executives who are expected to support the presidential candidate during the campaign.
He criticised the NEC’s move as a complete departure from the party’s established practices, stating: “The NPP has always prided itself on order, process, and bottom-up empowerment. The grassroots—the polling station executives, electoral area coordinators, and constituency officers—are the heart of this party. We build from the ground up, not from the top down.”
Read Mr Boakye Agyarko’s full statement below;
STATEMENT ON THE SEQUENCE OF NPP INTERNAL ELECTIONS: A CALL FOR SANITY AND STRATEGIC ORDER
By: Mr. Boakye Agyarko, NPP Flagbearer Hopeful
I have followed with keen interest—and deep concern—the outcome of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on Tuesday, 17th June 2025, in Accra, where it was announced that the party will hold polling station executive elections on 6th December 2025, followed by the flagbearer election on 31st January 2026, while deferring elections for electoral area coordinators, constituency, regional, and national executives to dates yet to be announced.
Let me state without mincing words: this decision is strategically unsound, politically indefensible, and organizationally reckless.
Will You Roof a Building Before Laying the Foundation?
What manner of political logic is this? Where in any world—be it politics, construction, or common sense—do you install a roof before laying a foundation?
How does a serious political party plan to elect a presidential candidate before renewing or replacing the very party structures—coordinators, constituency executives, regional and national officers—that are meant to support and drive that candidate’s campaign?
It is a recipe for confusion, conflict, and collapse.
Hard Questions for NEC:
I respectfully challenge the NEC to answer the following hard but necessary questions:
1. What compelling reason justifies this reversed order of elections?
2. Which elected officers will coordinate the flagbearer election when the party’s middle and upper structural organs remain unchanged?
3. How will the flagbearer campaign be owned and supported by structures that may be outdated, inactive, or unrepresentative of current grassroots sentiment?
4. Are we attempting to compromise the democratic will of our base in favour of elite convenience?
5. What message are we sending to party faithful and the Ghanaian electorate about our internal coherence and readiness for 2028?
6. Is this not a deliberate attempt to tilt the playing field, lock in vested interests, and stifle genuine competition?
A Dangerous Departure from Logic and Tradition
The NPP has always prided itself on order, process, and bottom-up empowerment. The grassroots—the polling station executives, electoral area coordinators, and constituency officers—are the heart of this party. We build from the ground up, not from the top down.
This sudden reversal of procedure is alien to our political culture and global democratic norms. It must be said plainly: this is political opportunism masquerading as strategy.
If we truly intend to win power in 2028, we must not start the journey with internal confusion and illogical sequencing.
A Clarion Call to Correct Course
I call on the NEC and all well-meaning stakeholders of the NPP to immediately revisit and reverse this timeline. Let us conduct the executive elections from polling stations upward in sequence—and only then, after our structures are legitimately in place, proceed to elect our flagbearer.
This is not just a matter of fairness—it is a matter of electoral viability and party survival. The current roadmap is a strategic suicide note. Let us not sign it.
We owe it to the party. We owe it to our history. And above all, we owe it to Ghana.
Let’s lay the foundation before we raise the flag.
Signed
Boakye Agyarko
NPP Flagbearer Hopeful
18th June 2025
