The Minority Leader and Effutu MP, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has issued a stark warning to members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP): internal division is a “slow poison” that has repeatedly cost the party dearly at the polls.
His admonition came during a convention of key NPP stakeholders in the Effutu Constituency, following the party’s flagbearer contest.
Afenyo-Markin told party faithful that disunity has been the common thread in every major electoral defeat the party has suffered, regardless of how popular its policies or leaders have been. He called on all members to rally behind the newly-elected flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and to put aside differences for the sake of victory in the 2028 general elections.
He urged delegates to embrace a unified purpose, message, and vision, stressing that the party’s agenda must be carried to the grassroots with a single voice. Afenyo-Markin warned against a repeat of the 2024 elections, when so-called “skirt and blouse” voting, where members split their ballots between presidential and parliamentary candidates, contributed to the NPP’s defeat.
“History has taught us harsh but clear lessons about disunity,” he remarked, recounting the party’s electoral setbacks in 1979, 1992, 1996, 2008, and 2012, each time when unity faltered. He pointed to the party’s historic losses, such as the split of the Danquah-Busia tradition in 1979, which allowed the PNP under Hilla Limann to take power, and similar scenarios that led to other NPP defeats.
“But look at the other side of our history, when we stood together as one and rallied behind our leader, victory stood with us,” Afenyo-Markin said, referencing the party’s successes in 2000, 2004, 2016, and 2020. He described unity as the “lifeblood” of the NPP, and disunity as its “slow poison.”
He concluded with a rallying cry, urging supporters nationwide to work tirelessly for Dr Bawumia and the party, warning that failure to support the flagbearer would be a failure of the party as a whole. “We must not allow the 2024 result to repeat itself. If Dr Bawumia fails, it is we who have failed him. Let us work for the party and for our country,” he said.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com
