The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has advised national executives of the Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to do away with internal divisions on various campuses of tertiary institutions. 

He said once the NPP now had a flag bearer for the 2028 elections, students must avoid aligning themselves to individuals and back the party’s candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

Dr Bawumia’s initiatives  

Addressing the national executives of TESCON in Parliament last Thursday, Mr Afenyo-Markin urged the students to communicate positive initiatives of Dr Bawumia, such as the digitalisation policy meant to turn around Ghana’s economy.

“The digitalised economy promised by Dr Bawumia is more achievable and tangible, as it is something that you can retain, than the NDC’s 24-hour economy.

The Minority Leader acknowledged the commitment of the national TESCON executives to party activism on various campuses, especially as the NPP was in opposition.

In his view, TESCON was the intellectual and ideological engine of the party’s tradition—the centre-right tradition of Danquah-Dombo-Busia.

He explained that the party's ideological foundation was laid by those three patriots, making the NPP a party that believed in free enterprise, human rights, rule of law, and due process, allowing the individual to unleash their higher potential to build the country and its economy.

Beyond the tradition of the party, he said what was required of TESCON executives and the student body was discipline, loyalty, and strategic focus ahead of the 2028 elections.

“Discipline means yielding where you have to yield for the greater good of the group in accordance with rules and regulations.

“Loyalty means that even when you are being bribed to sell your conscience and being pushed to betray the party, you tell yourself that this is my party and I die for my party,” he said.

Preach to grass roots

The MP for Effutu pointed out that the current political environment required “all of us” to sharpen messaging, particularly to the grassroots.

He recalled that when the NDC failed to address cocoa farmers’ issues, the party quickly accused the NPP of squandering money meant for farmers.

Describing such an accusation as lies, Mr Afenyo-Markin said the NDC failed in its responsibility towards farmers.

He, therefore, urged TESCON students to go to the grassroots on campuses to preach the failure of the NDC to students whose parents were cocoa farmers, to understand the situation.

“The good reason why the state is there is to intervene when there is a crisis,” he said, recalling that the NPP never turned its back on farmers during crisis times.