Acting Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Danquah Smith Buttey, has appealed to party members to prioritise unity and focus on the broader interests of the party rather than dwell on what he described as the “undue projection” of former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia during the recent National Delegates Conference.

Speaking in an interview, Mr Buttey, who also serves as the First Vice Chairperson of the NPP, expressed concern over the way Dr Bawumia was prominently featured at the event, noting that it risked creating an impression of favouritism in the party’s ongoing presidential race.

“We urge party members who are aspiring to be presidential candidates: if what he [Dr Bawumia] did was not pleasant, we sincerely plead with them to forgive,” he said in Twi.

“We are serving the party, not individuals, and everything we do must be in the interest of unity. If anyone feels unhappy about the incident and believes it was done on the instructions of the party, let me be clear: he acted on his own.”

Mr Buttey clarified that neither the party nor its executives sanctioned the display, stressing that it should not be allowed to cause divisions.

“He has already done it, and as a party that seeks unity, this is not the time to assign blame or say his actions caused this or that. What is wrong is wrong, but the party and its executives did not instruct him to do it. Now that it has happened, and since he is one of us, and has already apologised, we are asking everyone to forgive and let it go.”

He called for reconciliation and forward movement, urging all factions within the party to work together.

“We plead with everyone—what he did wasn’t right, but I appeal to them to forgive him, and let’s focus on moving the party forward,” Mr Buttey emphasised.

His comments come amid simmering tensions within the NPP as the contest for the party’s 2028 flagbearer position gathers momentum.