Former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, says the newly elected national executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) must prioritise unity within the party and address the needs of young people and women.

According to him, “The problems that they will need to solve include one, harmonising the various parts of the constituencies that make the party, not only geographical constituencies, but various groups, bodies, and so on,” he said on JoyFM's SMS on Monday, 5th October, following the party’s national delegates conference over the weekend.

He identified closer coordination among the NPP’s various groups as a key task for the new leadership.

Prof Oquaye explained that the leadership’s responsibilities extended beyond bringing geographical constituencies together to ensuring that the different groups within the party worked in harmony.

He also identified the needs of young people and women as priorities that required practical plans.

“Catering for the needs of the youth, catering for the needs of the women in particular,” he said.

Prof Oquaye maintained that efforts to support these groups should be backed by concrete measures.

“We’re talking about serious working plans for the people of Ghana in that regard,” he stated.

His comments came in response to a question about the challenges the new executives should address, drawing on the findings of the committee he chaired to review the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 general election.

He said the incoming leadership would engage relevant party figures on the next phase of implementing the committee’s recommendations.

“Those who are in office now are also immediately going to have a meeting with all the relevant persons towards the implementation of the next stage,” he said.