The New Patriotic Party (NPP) owe these former appointees of the first term of President Akufo Addo’s administration, a lot. For their hard work and thoughtfulness, the party was able to wrestle some traditional seats of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 2020.
Arguably, without their effort, the NPP could have ended up as a Minority in its own government. The party and for that matter a party in government that lost 32 seats it had won in 2016, in the 2020 election owes the yet to be mentioned parliamentaians for wrestling seven (7) seats from the NDC. The basis for this praise lies in the tactful and patriotic orientations these former appointees had while pursuing their political ambitions.
They challenged the odds by exploiting the appointment offered them by the President to overturn the political fortunes of the NPP in the 2020 election. Mention could be made of Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, a former Deputy Minister of Energy who unseated the incumbent MP for Karaga in 2020. The Karaga Constituency has been a stronghold for the NDC since its creation. It is not surprising that his appointment was reaffirmed in the second term of the President.
Another appointee [former Deputy Chief of Staff] Samuel Abu Jinapor won the Damango seat from the NDC in 2020. This is one of the strongholds of the NDC; since 1996, and this young politician wrestled it for the NPP. He never went for an easy contest and he succeeded in making history with his victory.
John Peter Amewu exploited the opportunity granted him as a Minister for Energy in the first term of President Akufo Addo, to oust the NDC from the Hohoe seat. Mr Oscar Liwaal, Stephen Banbiim Julalah, Abdullah Alhassan, and Abdulai Abanga, all former District Chief Executives, managed to overturn strongholds of the opposition NDC into an NPP seat in 2020.
The Yunyoo, Salaga North, Binduri, and Pru West all orphaned constituencies were won by these DCEs for the NPP courtesy the decisive action from the above mentioned personalities. These cases need to be interrogated as some needless rivalry is springing up in certain constituencies considered strongholds of the NPP.
The political quest for victory 2024 requires that predominant seats held by outstanding parliamentarians be protected against in-party conflicts. The wounds from the 2020 primaries that resulted in the removal of some experienced MPs have had a toll on the performance of the Majority in Parliament.
The brouhaha that met the consideration of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy is just the beginning of a major political crisis for the NPP government, and that should be enough to urge the party to prevent its recurrence.