Paul Afoko Enters NPP Chairmanship Race With Rebuild-First Message

Paul Awentami Afoko has put himself back into the New Patriotic Party's national leadership conversation, declaring his intention to contest for National Chairman as the party begins the hard work of recovering from its 2024 electoral defeat.

The former NPP National Chairman made the announcement at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, July 14, where he said he would file his nomination when the party formally opens the process. His message was direct: the party must stop searching for one person to blame and start rebuilding its structures from the ground up.

"The duty before us now is not to blame. The duty before us is to rebuild," Mr Afoko said.

Afoko Returns With A Rebuilding Message

Mr Afoko said his decision to seek the chairmanship was being made with "humility, confidence and faith in God," and would be subject to the party's rules and timelines. He told supporters he would officially launch his campaign after the nomination process begins, and invited members of the party to join him when that stage is reached.

His return to the race carries political weight because of his history with the party's national leadership. Mr Afoko served as NPP National Chairman from 2014 until 2015, when he was indefinitely suspended while the party was in opposition. At the time, some party members accused him of conduct they claimed undermined the chances of the party's flagbearer ahead of the 2016 general election.

Nearly a decade later, he is presenting himself as a unifying figure at a moment when the NPP is assessing what went wrong in the 2024 polls and how it can reorganise before the next national contest. He said the defeat should be understood as the result of several pressures rather than the failure of one leader, candidate or campaign actor.

According to him, the party must examine organisational weaknesses, gaps in communication, economic conditions, parliamentary dynamics, grassroots morale, declining public trust and the wider national mood. He argued that no presidential candidate can win without strong machinery behind him, especially in a competitive national election.

"No presidential candidate can win without a united party, a strong organisation, disciplined structures, motivated grassroots and a parliamentary strategy that works constituency by constituency," he said.

Unity, Grassroots Mobilisation And Party Discipline

Mr Afoko's campaign pitch is built around what he called the "3Rs" agenda: Reunite, Rebuild and Recapture Power. He said the NPP needs a disciplined, well-resourced and united party structure capable of carrying campaign work from the polling station level to the national platform.

He placed particular emphasis on grassroots morale, saying the party cannot return to power if its loyal supporters feel ignored, excluded or neglected. His appeal to dissatisfied members was one of the clearest signals of the tone he intends to set if he is allowed to compete for the chairmanship.

"To those who feel hurt, disgruntled, rejected or forgotten, I say: come home. The NPP needs you," he said.

The former chairman urged party members to contest internal positions without damaging one another, pointing to the J.B. Danquah-Busia tradition of tolerance as a guide for internal competition. He said rebuilding the party would require confidence, discipline and a willingness to bring back members who have drifted away from active participation.

His proposals included strengthening polling station and constituency structures, improving mobilisation, ensuring resources reach party organs across the country, recovering parliamentary seats the NPP lost, and protecting its established strongholds. These areas, he suggested, must be treated as practical organisational tasks rather than slogans.

• Reunite members who feel alienated from the party.
• Rebuild structures from polling stations through constituencies to the national level.
• Recapture power through discipline, credible leadership and hard work.

Lessons From The 2024 Defeat

Mr Afoko argued that the NPP's path back to government will depend on honest internal reflection. He said the party must avoid entitlement and confront the reasons voters turned away from it in 2024. In his view, electoral recovery will not come from reputation alone, but from practical organisation and renewed public trust.

He also defended elements of his previous tenure as National Chairman, saying initiatives introduced between 2014 and 2015 showed what could be achieved with effective leadership. He mentioned the opening of constituency accounts and the organisation of parliamentary primaries as examples of systems that helped the party function more effectively.

"What we started then, we can do again -- and we can do it better," Mr Afoko said.

The former chairman also prayed for God's blessings on the NPP, its flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the party's elders, executives, members and supporters. His reference to Dr Bawumia came as part of a broader call for the party to avoid internal blame games and instead build a stronger base for future elections.

Mr Afoko said Ghana needs a strong NPP that can provide effective opposition and prepare itself to return to government. He framed the party's next chapter as one that must be driven by humility, credible ideas, disciplined organisation and commitment to national development.

"The next election will not be won by entitlement. It will be won by humility, hard work, credible ideas, disciplined organisation and a renewed commitment to national development," he said.

For the NPP, the chairmanship race will test how seriously the party wants to confront the wounds of defeat. For Mr Afoko, it is also a test of whether a figure once pushed out of the national chairmanship can return to lead a rebuilding effort at one of the most sensitive moments in the party's recent history.