By Issah Olegor
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is facing growing backlash after revealing it will not release the full findings of its internal post-election review into the party’s humiliating defeat in the 2024 general elections.
The decision, confirmed by the Ofoase Ayirebi Member of Parliament, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has triggered criticism from political watchers and members of the public who accuse the party of attempting to hide the truth.
In an interview with Channel One TV on Monday, Oppong Nkrumah, who also serves on the NPP’s Constitutional and Legal Committee, explained that the report contains “sensitive information” and “trade secrets” which cannot be made public.
According to him, it is not a common practice, either in Ghana or internationally, for political parties to publish detailed internal reports of their election performance, especially when they contain confidential strategies and internal deliberations.
“No, we will not be publishing that report to the general public. Political parties don’t do that because it also contains some trade secrets, sensitive information. So no political party does that,” he stated firmly.
Instead, the NPP has opted to issue a condensed version—a summary—which the leadership claims reflects the main findings of the investigative committee.
Oppong Nkrumah noted that the party has already begun acting on the recommendations from the summary, insisting that the NPP has indeed undergone a “serious introspection.”
“The summary that we believe captures it, we have put it out and we’ve responded to or we’ve started the process of responding to,” he said.
The 2024 Defeat and the Oquaye Committee
Following its painful loss in the 2024 general elections, where the NPP was ousted from both the presidency and parliamentary majority by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the party set up a 12-member committee led by former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye.
The mandate was clear: to investigate the causes of the defeat and propose recommendations for rebuilding the party.
The NPP’s presidential candidate, former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, failed to secure a win against the NDC’s John Dramani Mahama.
The party also lost a significant number of parliamentary seats, leaving it in the minority in Parliament for the first time in eight years.
On April 16, 2025, the committee formally submitted its final report to the NPP’s National Council (NC) during an emergency meeting at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.
Present at the high-level meeting were former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Dr. Bawumia, his former running mate Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong, and other top executives.
The report, according to sources, contained scathing criticisms of the party’s campaign structure, lack of grassroots engagement, disunity among regional campaign teams, and voter apathy—particularly in areas previously considered party strongholds.
Leadership Under Pressure
Despite the presentation, the party leadership has remained tight-lipped about the full content.
General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong, while confirming receipt of the report, said the party needed time to reflect internally and would only act on the key recommendations without making the entire document public.
“The National Council accepted the report. We will consider the recommendations and act appropriately,” he stated briefly after the meeting.
