New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Chairman aspirant Sammy Crabbe says his suspension from the party in 2015 was not motivated by opposition to then-presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, but by his decision to defend the party’s constitution.

Mr Crabbe, who was an NPP Vice Chairman at the time, said he challenged the suspension of then-party Chairman Paul Afoko and General Secretary Kwabena Agyepong because he believed the appropriate constitutional procedures had not been followed.

“I did not go in support of my chairman. I went to protect the constitution,” he said.

Speaking on Citi FM on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, Mr Crabbe said the allegations against the two executives were irrelevant to his position, as his concern was the process through which they were suspended.

He argued that elected party officers could not be removed through the disciplinary process and that the NPP constitution provided specific procedures for such action.

“You can’t use the disciplinary process to remove an officer. NEC cannot do it, council cannot do it. No, no, it’s very clear in our constitution,” he said, adding that his stance at the time could easily have been interpreted as an alignment with factions opposed to Nana Akufo-Addo.

Mr Crabbe, however, maintained that political considerations did not influence his decision, insisting that he had sworn to protect the NPP constitution and was therefore obliged to uphold it regardless of who was involved.

“I’m so happy that I said and did what I did because that’s exactly what they did,” he said.

He said the controversy surrounding the 2015 suspensions ultimately set a precedent for disciplinary action against party members who disagreed with the leadership.

According to him, protecting the security of tenure of elected party officers remains essential to preventing arbitrary disciplinary measures and strengthening internal democracy within the NPP.