Former President Nana Addo Dunkwa Akufo-Addo has been blamed for the New Patriotic Party’s defeat in the 2024 General Elections by a member of the Council of Elders, Robert Ajene.
According to Mr. Ajene, the former President’s refusal to respect the opinions of key party members, including NPP Members of Parliament, led to the party’s loss.
“Our former president, Nana Akufo-Addo, did not respect the views of all Ghanaians when it came to certain issues affecting the welfare of the people. You wouldn’t listen to people, even your insiders say, this particular person is not good, moving, you refused,” he stated.
Mr. Ajene cited the example of the NPP MPs’ call for the finance minister’s removal, which was ignored by the former President. This, he said, angered Ghanaians and ultimately led to the NPP’s defeat.
The MPs had raised concerns about the deteriorating state of the Ghanaian economy, but their calls for change were ignored.
Despite praising the NPP’s 2024 Presidential Candidate, Dr. Bawumia, as a good presidential material, Mr. Ajene believes that the former President’s actions affected Dr. Bawumia’s chances.
Speaking in an interview with Dreamz FM’s James Nana Tsiquaye, Mr Ajene stated that Dr. Bawumia deserved to win the elections, but the deeds of the former President, who had finished his 8-year term, negatively impacted the party’s chances.
“Ghanaians don’t hate the NPP. Ghanaians didn’t like the leadership of the NPP. Ghanaians were happy that they had a leader that had come by destiny in the person of Dr. Mahamudu, but they thought by mistake, ‘he was so attached to Akufo-Addo to the extent that a vote for Baumea, you are voting for Akufo-Addo. That’s the mistake.”
Mr. Ajene noted that at the regional level, the party seemed unaware of the Council of Elders’ existence.
He believes the New Patriotic Party’s defeat in the 2024 elections is self-explanatory and doesn’t require a committee to investigate. Instead, he suggests the party should own up to its mistakes, apologize to its base, and focus on reorganizing to regain strength.
