Former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, has attributed the party's defeat in the December 2024 elections to several internal party decisions, including allowing government appointees to contest against incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs) in constituency primaries.

According to Mr Boadu, the presence of government appointees in these primaries played a major role in the NPP’s failure to secure victory in the 2024 elections.

“Most government appointees contributed to our loss in the general elections. A bold decision should have been taken. If you are a government appointee, you are at liberty to contest in an orphan constituency, but not where we already have a sitting member of parliament,” he explained.

In an interview on Accra-based Hello FM, Boadu also pointed out that individuals who had made sacrifices during the party's time in opposition, striving for power and campaigning hard, were often not rewarded with ministerial positions.

He added, “I used to be part of a board at Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), where we were offered GHS 1,150.”

Boadu further noted that government appointees receive more benefits from the government than sitting MPs, citing various examples to support his point. He recounted an incident in the Assin Jakain constituency, which had been one of the party’s strongholds.

He also mentioned that the withdrawal of ministerial positions from some appointees was another factor contributing to the party's loss.

“If a minister contests for a parliamentary position, depending on how the contest went, he would campaign against the sitting candidate. Looking at it, most of them were withdrawn from their ministerial positions,” he said.

Boadu’s comments highlight internal party challenges that the NPP faces in the wake of its electoral defeat and underline the need for strategic adjustments within the party to regain voter trust.