Dr Bryan Acheampong, a senior member of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), has called for unity within the party and urged rival factions to end internal disputes as tensions persist between supporters of key presidential primary contenders.
Acheampong, a former Minister of Food and Agriculture and MP for Abetifi, said the party’s focus must be on rebuilding after its 2024 electoral defeat and preparing for a return to power in 2028.
In a strongly worded statement on Friday (19 June), he appealed for calm following recent remarks by former presidential aspirant and MP Kennedy Agyapong, who has warned of exposing internal matters if provoked.
“I urge him, respectfully but firmly, to lower the temperature and to lend his considerable influence to the work of healing rather than division,” Acheampong said.
Agyapong, who contested the NPP’s 2028 flagbearer race, has recently criticised elements within the party and suggested he could reveal sensitive information if tensions continue to escalate.
Acheampong acknowledged that some individuals within campaign structures had previously made disparaging remarks about Agyapong during the internal contest, but insisted these should not be attributed to the party’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
“There is no evidence that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia commissioned, directed or endorsed those attacks,” he said.
He also admitted that heated exchanges during the primaries were not limited to one side, calling for collective restraint and reconciliation.
The Abetifi MP stressed that internal grievances must not overshadow the party’s broader objective.
“This is about Dr Bawumia and the NPP and not about the handful of individuals with their own scores to settle,” he said.
The NPP, now in opposition, continues to manage post-primary tensions as it seeks to consolidate support ahead of the 2028 general elections. Party leadership has yet to publicly respond to the latest appeal.
In a related development, Bryan Acheampong has urged party members not to blame flagbearer Mahamudu Bawumia for attacks directed at fellow contender Kennedy Agyapong, saying there is no evidence linking him to the conduct of some supporters.
In a statement calling for unity within the opposition party, Acheampong acknowledged that some individuals associated with various campaigns, including his own, made disrespectful remarks about Agyapong during and after the NPP’s presidential primary.
“During and after the contest, a few voices around the flagbearer’s and even my own campaign directed disrespect and sometimes insults at Hon. Agyapong that were unworthy of our tradition,” the Abetifi lawmaker said.
However, Acheampong rejected suggestions that Bawumia orchestrated or endorsed the attacks, insisting the actions of a handful of supporters should not be attributed to the party’s 2028 presidential candidate.
“There is no evidence that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia commissioned, directed or endorsed those attacks,” he said.
“The individuals responsible carry their own long-standing grievances with Hon. Agyapong, quarrels that are personal to them and that they have pursued on their own account.”
The intervention comes amid heightened tensions within the NPP following recent remarks by Agyapong, who has expressed dissatisfaction with the treatment he received from some party figures after the presidential contest.
Acheampong, who also contested the party’s flagbearer race, said he understood the disappointment that could follow a hard-fought campaign, having experienced defeat himself.
He warned that internal divisions risk undermining the party’s efforts to rebuild after its loss in the 2024 general election.
“Our party suffered a painful defeat in 2024. The single most important task before us between now and 2028 is to rebuild, to reunite, and to return to power,” he said.
The former agriculture minister appealed directly to Agyapong and his supporters to channel their energies toward reconciliation rather than confrontation.
“Ken is a son of this party,” Acheampong said, describing the former Assin Central MP as a longstanding contributor whose influence within the party remained significant.
He also acknowledged that harsh words had been exchanged by supporters on multiple sides during the campaign period, including by Agyapong himself, but said all factions should move beyond past grievances.
“In the heat of a contest, none of us speaks with perfect restraint, and harsh words passed in more than one direction,” he said.
Acheampong concluded by urging party members to unite behind Bawumia, arguing that loyalty to the NPP should take precedence over personal disputes.
“Dr Bawumia is now the candidate of all of us,” he said. “To rally around him is not to take a side in anyone’s personal feud; it is to defend the party that is bigger than all of us.”
The statement is the latest attempt by senior NPP figures to ease tensions within the party as it seeks to regroup and prepare for the 2028 elections.
