‘It doesn’t make sense or add up’

Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku

The Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku, has raised objections to the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) decision to hold its presidential primary on January 31, 2026.

Representing the campaign interests of Bryan Acheampong, the MP has criticized the timeline as premature and disconnected from ongoing internal reforms.

Speaking in an interview on Citi News June 19, 2025, Davis Opoku, popularly known as OPK, questioned the rationale behind setting a date for the party’s flagbearer elections before critical decisions affecting the grassroots structure of the party are finalized.

“The date that has been set, January 31st, 2026, it doesn’t really add up, it doesn’t make sense,” he said.

According to him, the party is yet to adopt new proposals expected to be deliberated at the NPP’s upcoming Annual Delegates Conference in July 2025.

These include structural adjustments to the number of polling station executives increasing from five to seven which, if passed, will require elections across all polling stations to reconstitute the party’s local leadership.

“How do you put into motion a presidential campaign when the party’s base is about to change?” Are they to campaign to the existing five executives or the incoming seven?”

The Mpraeso MP said the Bryan Acheampong campaign intends to formally petition the party’s leadership to “hasten slowly,” insisting that the party must prioritize building a solid internal structure before embarking on presidential primaries.

“We’re not just electing a political leader. We want to build a strong party that can carry any presidential candidate to victory,” Opoku emphasised.

He further warned that rushing through the process could compromise fairness and transparency, especially after the NPP’s heavy defeat in the 2024 general elections.

“This level of scheming hasn’t helped the NPP. The grassroots are tired they want to see a stronger party, not glorification of individuals,” he stated.

Opoku also lamented what he described as the lack of a level playing field, noting that aspiring presidential candidates make huge sacrifices both physically and financially and deserve fair treatment.

“The least the party can do is to provide a fair process. This rush, ahead of a national conference that could reshape the constitution of our party, is wrong,” he said.

‘It does not add up, doesn’t make sense…’ – Mpraeso MP, Davis Opoku, speaks for the Bryan Acheampong camp, criticising early NPP primaries. Says they’ll formally petition the party to “hasten slowly.”#CitiuationRoom #CitiNewsroom pic.twitter.com/9dI6ibNhRE

— CITI FM 97.3 (@Citi973) June 19, 2025

AM/KA

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