Pandemonium erupted at the Asylum Down headquarters of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) yesterday when supporters and aspirants gathered to submit nomination forms for the party’s national executive elections.
What was supposed to be a routine administrative exercise descended into chaos as a section of the crowd exchanged physical blows in full view of shocked bystanders.
A video of the incident, shared by 1957 news portal and sighted by The New Republic, showed party supporters clad in party paraphernalia landing hefty blows on each other while others made frantic but unsuccessful attempts to separate the warring factions.
The violent spectacle has drawn unwanted attention to the party’s efforts to reorganise itself ahead of the 2028 general election, which will see former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia lead the party for the second time.
In a related development, some aspirants who presented their nominations have used the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and President John Dramani Mahama as punching bags to launch their presence in the race.
The aspirants declared that the NPP is destined to win the 2028 general election and warned that they would crush any individual or groups that attempt to block their chances.
Presenting forms individually to the National Elections Committee chairman, Frederick Opare Ansah, Alfred Ababio Kumi, Nii Kwatei Titus Glover and Mustapha Abdul-Hamid took turns to separately speak about their commitment and plans towards the 2028 general election, warning the NDC to get ready for them.
But their threats have been condemned by a cross section of the public as empty rhetoric designed to mask the party’s internal disarray.
Alfred Ababio Kumi, popularly known as Adenta Kumi, whose remarks have sparked widespread condemnation, warned that anyone who dares to challenge NPP members or interfere with ballot boxes during the 2028 general election will “meet their God.”
Accompanied by vigilante groups, Kumi directed the warning particularly at members of the NDC, saying the NPP that contests the next election will be fundamentally different from the party that was defeated in 2024.
Allegedly claiming that some NPP candidates were assaulted and ballot boxes snatched during the last election, Kumi served notice that such incidents would not be repeated under his watch as National Youth Organiser.
“This new NPP is a new party altogether. The NPP of 2024 is not the NPP of 2028. We are sending a warning to the NDC: we will meet them shoulder to shoulder. What happened the last time, when they misbehaved and took ballot boxes and beat some of our candidates, under my watch, that would not happen,” he declared.
He did not explain what he meant by those involved meeting God, but insisted that anyone who targeted an NPP member or attempted to interfere with election materials would face severe consequences.
“I am saying this without fear. If anybody attempts to mess around with any NPP person or the ballot box on that day, they will meet God. As to how they will meet God, we don’t know. I am not afraid of anybody. I served in Manhyia, and we are not afraid of anybody. By the grace of God, I held Otumfuo’s gun. We are not afraid of anybody,” he stated.
Kumi said his previous service at the Manhyia Palace, where he held a gun for Asantehene, Otumfuo Tutu II, has given him the confidence to confront any challenge without fear.
The NPP youth activist also pledged his support to the party’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and said he was personally committed to helping him win the 2028 presidential election.
“We are only here to serve Ghana, so if they don’t want peace, we will show them what power is. I have personally promised my heart that we will do whatever it will take to make Dr Bawumia become President. Whatever we will do to win seats to become the majority in Parliament, we will do it,” he noted.
In a similar fashion, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, a former Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) who is aspiring as First Vice Chairman of the NPP, offered himself as a sacrificial lamb while submitting his forms yesterday.
The Muslim scholar pledged his readiness to be used at the front line, assuring he will be that leader who will put fear in the governing party.
“I want this party to put me on the front lines in 2028, and I shall spit pure fire at the NDC. That’s what I represent, Mr. Chairman, that is what I represent,” he declared.
Abdul-Hamid, who along with nine others is facing prosecution over a GH¢280 million extortion and money laundering scandal, believes he represents the different groups that the NPP would need ahead of the 2028 election, including Zongo communities, the media, intellectuals and the youth.
“I carry everything that this party wants for 2028. I carry settler communities, I carry Zongo communities, I carry media people, I carry the intellectual class, I carry the youth of this country,” the 55-year-old said.
Regardless of his outlined strengths, the former University of Cape Coast lecturer said he is prepared to serve in any capacity assigned to him.
Additionally, Nii Kwatei Titus Glover, the former Greater Accra Regional Minister and onetime Member of Parliament for Tema East constituency, while submitting his forms expressed confidence that the NPP is on the verge of returning to power.
According to him, his engagements with the grassroots across the country show a clear signal that the NPP is returning to political power.
“The signal is clear. It is absolute. We have nothing but victory,” he declared, while referring to the prospects of the party’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
He asked that President Mahama, who is serving his last term, would hand over power peacefully just as Nana Akufo-Addo handed power to President Mahama peacefully in the past.
“Just like Nana Akufo-Addo handed power to President Mahama peacefully, in 2028, President Mahama should not act funny,” he said.
The former Minister, who four years ago contested the national organiser position but lost to Henry Nana Boakye, called for all hands to be on deck.
“All hands are on deck. There’s a lot of work to be done. We need strategy. We need discipline, effective communication, and all the things that we need to better the work,” he said.
In a stunning development, former Ashanti Regional chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has upon reflection given up his dream of becoming the next national chairman of his party.
“This is not the decision my heart desired, but sometimes, true love requires us to release what we deeply want in order to protect what we love even more. I would rather carry this pain quietly than allow the party I love to suffer because of me,” he said in a release dated Monday, August 24.
The convict has withdrawn from the contest that would have seen him battle the likes of Boakye Agyarko, Paul Afoko, John Boadu and others.
His decision comes days after his aides picked nomination forms for him, expressing confidence in him contesting the seat while in his confined area. He was reported to be the favourite of Dr Bawumia.
The violent clash at the party headquarters and the inflammatory threats issued by aspirants paint a troubling picture of a party struggling to find its footing after a devastating electoral defeat.
The internal chaos, combined with the withdrawal of Bawumia’s preferred candidate, raises serious questions about the NPP’s readiness to mount a credible challenge in 2028.
While aspirants promise fire and brimstone, the reality on the ground suggests a party in disarray more focused on internal rivalries and empty threats than on the substantive work of rebuilding.
A party that cannot conduct a peaceful nomination exercise without fisticuffs has no business threatening others with violence.
The NPP’s aspirants would do well to remember that elections are won at the ballot box, not through vigilante threats or blood-curdling warnings about “meeting God.”
As for Chairman Wontumi’s withdrawal, only time will tell whether this is an act of true love for the party or a strategic retreat from a contest he sensed he could not win.
