New Patriotic Party National (NPP) Chairman hopeful, Paul Awentami Afoko has begun a second phase of a series of high-level consultative meetings with key figures in the party, including former Vice President and flagbearer of the party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, former President John Agyekum Kufuor, and former Assin Central Member of Parliament (MP) Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.
Mr Afoko, before the January 31, 2026, Presidential Primaries, met with all five (5) aspirants, including Dr Bryan Acheampong, Ing Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, and Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, all aimed at fostering unity within the party.
The meetings form part of his nationwide engagement ahead of the NPP’s upcoming National Delegates Conference.
It also signals an attempt to bridge factions.
Mr Afoko, who served as NPP National Chairman from 2014 to 2015, is pushing his 3R Agenda: Reunite, Rebuild, Recapture as the blueprint to return the party to power in 2028.
The visits form part of efforts aimed at tapping into collective experience, listening to concerns, and building consensus on the state of the party after its 2024 electoral defeat.
“You cannot rebuild a house by ignoring the architects,” a member of Afoko’s team told reporters.
“He’s meeting the people who have led this party at the highest level. Their wisdom matters. The meetings with Dr Bawumia, the party’s 2024 flagbearer, and former President Akufo-Addo are seen as significant given their influence over the party’s direction.
The visit to former President Kufuor, the NPP’s first President under the 4th Republic, underscores Afoko’s pitch for institutional memory and unity.
While details of the discussions remain private, sources indicate Mr. Afoko stressed the need to “put all hands on deck” and avoid internal blame games.
He is said to have repeated his call for the party to prioritize “competence over ethnicity” in choosing its next National Chairman.
The consultative tour follows similar meetings with the Ashanti Regional Council of Elders and Ashanti Regional Executives in Kumasi weeks ago. Mr. Afoko, after he formally declared his intention to contest, is on a nationwide outreach to listen to the party’s kingmakers. Party insiders say the meetings show he is “testing the waters and mending fences”
