Former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, has outlined the key challenges he believes the newly elected national executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) must address as the party seeks to reorganise following its defeat in the 2024 general election.

Speaking in an interview on the Joy FM Super Morning Show on Monday, October 5, Professor Oquaye was asked about the challenges the new national officers would have to tackle, particularly after a committee he led examined the reasons behind the NPP’s poor performance in the 2024 elections.

When asked, “Following the election of national officers, what challenges do you think this team would solve?”, Professor Oquaye said the new leadership must first focus on bringing together the different parts of the party.

“The problems that they will need to solve include one: harmonising the various parts of the constituencies that make the party, not only geographical constituencies, but various groups, bodies, and so on,” he said.

He said this effort must also involve developing practical programmes to respond to the concerns of young people and women, particularly as the party works to reconnect with different sections of the electorate.

Professor Oquaye said that the NPP should focus on concrete plans rather than political rhetoric when addressing these concerns.

“We are not talking about rhetoric such as women's bank. We're talking about serious work plans for the people of Ghana in that regard,” he said.

He also identified what he described as “non-liberal measures” under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government as another issue the new NPP leadership would need to address.

Professor Oquaye said the party would have to consider how such measures could be reversed, arguing that individual freedom was important to economic and national development.

“We are also talking about how best we can reverse some of those non-liberal measures of the NDC which are imprisoning people and also now taking away from people their initiatives,” he said.

He explained that, in his view, freedom gives people the opportunity to develop ideas, innovate and contribute to national development.

“Let me tell you, freedom is the basic motivating factor of people because freedom releases their faculties and they can invent and do great things,” Professor Ocquaye said.

He further said that countries where fundamental human rights are not respected face difficulties because citizens are forced to focus on securing their freedoms.

“Countries which are not free where fundamental human rights are abused, those two can never make progress because people are fighting for their liberty,” he said.

“When you are free, you can conceptualise, and you can produce. We're working on all these areas. And policy measures released under the leadership of future president Dr Bawumia in this regard," he added.

Professor Oquaye said the NPP was working on policy measures in these areas under the leadership of the party’s 2024 presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

He also disclosed that the party’s Council of Elders would engage the newly elected national executives to help bring together the different ideas and priorities within the party.

“And in the same way, not only are we planning in this direction, but the Council of Elders are quickly going to meet this group and bring the broad conceptualisations together,” he said.

“Let us all sing for the same hymn book, and then tackle the issue you're ahead of us."