Mr Stephen Ntim, the National Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has made a clarion call on the entire membership of the NPP to rally around whoever will emerge as the Party’s new leader and flagbearer after the presidential primaries on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

The NPP National Chairman pointed out that unwavering support for the party’s new leader after the internal poll is the surest way for the party to achieve its goal of “breaking the 8” to win a third successive term in office in the December 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Addressing the media at a joint press conference held by the National Executive Committee and Council of Elders of the NPP at the Alisa Hotel on Thursday, November 2, 2023, Mr. Stephen Ntim said “It is evident that what stands in the way of the [NPP] to a third consecutive electoral victory is ourselves, our actions, and our inactions”.

“The way forward is for us to deal decisively with the widespread indiscipline, apathy, and general indifference in the Party. I want to call specifically on the four flagbearer aspirants who are all capable of leading the NPP to commit to working as a team to ensure victory, even if they fail to win on Saturday.

“Rallying behind the eventual winner on Saturday is a necessary condition for our success in 2024 because it has the effect of promoting unity and healing the wounds that the internal contest has opened up. We must reconnect with our passion to serve, which was the driving force behind the exploits of our forebears,” the NPP National Chairman stated.

“We must undertake to let go of personal differences and disagreements. In other words, we must each prioritize the larger interest of the Party ahead of our hurts and egos. To emerge from Saturday united and poised for victory, I must be able to say to myself that the battle ahead is not about me, though I am the National Chairman of the Party.

“We must each look at the bigger picture, bearing in mind that the grand pursuit of the New Patriotic Party is generational, and our task is to build on the gains we have inherited. Our singular mandate is to add on, not to take away or undermine our inheritance,” Mr Ntim further admonished.

He further stressed that “As Chairman, working with the Steering Committee, we will take a strong view against indiscipline in the Party and related actions or inactions with the propensity to undermine our generational mandate and the goal of winning the elections in 2024.".

Economic recovery

Touching on efforts the Akufo-Addo government is putting in place to revive the economy, knowing that the state of the economy will play an essential role in the 2024 election campaign, Mr. Ntim said the steps taken by the government are yielding positive results, and it is his hope that the economic recovery will continue to give the party a firm footing to campaign on.

“The 2024 general elections will be fought on many fronts, especially the economy. But we know we will win the battle on the economy because our capacity, commitment, and record show that we have what it takes to regenerate the economy from the ruins of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war that threw the entire global economy out of balance.

“We know the challenges Ghanaians have endured from the second quarter of 2022, where due to the twin factors of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, inflation began to skyrocket, the performance of the cedi started deteriorating, and productivity slowed. It led to the President making the difficult but inevitable decision for Ghana to go to the IMF for a balance of payment support,” Stephen Ntim said.

“During this challenging period, many countries in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere sought help from the IMF for the same reason Ghana applied. The President has acknowledged the present economic difficulties in the country and has committed every effort of his government to improve conditions for Ghanaians.

“As we speak, the economy has taken a turn for good. Inflation, which rose to a high of 54.1 in December 2022, is declining quickly (38.1% as of October 2023). The cedi has primarily stabilized, and productivity is increasing by 3.2 percent at the close of the second quarter of 2023,” he added.

Presidential primaries

The NPP will, on Saturday, 4 November 2023, elect its flagbearer for the December 2024 general elections.

From 2007 and for the last 16 years, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been the leader of the NPP.

On Saturday, the party will have the opportunity to elect not only its flagbearer for the 2024 presidential elections but also a new leader to take over from President Akufo-Addo.

Four persons are aspiring for the position. They include the Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Kennedy Agyapong, the sitting Member of Parliament for Assin Central in the Central Region and lastly, Francis Addai Nimoh, the former Member of Parliament for Mampong Constituency in the Ashanti Region.