The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) decision to begin organising for the 2028 elections barely two years after losing power is deliberate and strategic, according to the party’s Communications Committee Chairman, Nana Akomea.

Speaking on PM Express with Evans Mensah on Tuesday, the former Okaikwei South MP said the party believes it cannot afford to delay preparations ahead of the next general election.

“Yes, the party has put into place various committees, and you wonder if it’s too early,” he said.

Mr Akomea explained that the same concerns surfaced when the party decided to elect its flagbearer three years before the national polls.

“The same sentiments came up. It’s too early. Let’s wait a while,” he noted.

But he said the party concluded that it needed “all the time” available to rebuild and properly focus ahead of 2028.

“The focus that we need will be better served by having a flag bearer in place early enough and not waiting for two years before the general election,” he stated.

According to him, another reason for the early timetable was to address tensions that usually emerge during internal contests.

“It usually comes with all kinds of acrimony, so get that out of the way, and let some peace and quiet come from that,” he said.

Mr Akomea argued that once the flagbearer is elected early, the party can then concentrate on shaping a coherent campaign direction and policy platform.

“Having had the flag bearer three years before the election, you need to put in place the material that will guide the campaign,” he explained.

He said the aim is to prevent the party’s eventual candidate from operating on “ad hoc sentiment to sentiments,” insisting that campaign messaging must be grounded in “agreed sets of policies.”

The NPP, he disclosed, has therefore created two categories of committees.

The first are standing committees that advise the party’s National Council.

“So my committee, for example, is a standing committee,” he said. “We would advise the National Council that it will hold us accountable for the nature of communications in the party.”

He clarified that elected national officers expected later this year would handle operational work but remain answerable to the standing committees.

“There’s going to be an election for a communications director later in the year,” he said, adding that the eventual director “would answer to the communications committee.”

The same structure, he added, would apply to organisers, researchers and finance officers within the party.

“So these are committees of the National Council,” Mr Akomea stressed.

“The National Council, for example, will not call the communications director directly. They will call the chairman of the communications committee.”