Dr. Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, a member of Kennedy Agyapong’s flagbearer campaign communications team, has underscored the urgent need for a clear separation of roles within the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He called for the appointment of a strong and independent National Chairman—someone capable of challenging authority, even when it comes from within the highest levels of the party.
“I am glad with this amendment that we are doing so that there is a clear dichotomy [between the flagbearer and chairman of the party], which is why we need a strong leader as the leader of the party. We need a strong chairman.
We need a chairman who can tell the president [speak to the president] in the face,” he said in an interview on Channel One TV on Saturday, July 19.
Dr. Boakye-Danquah stressed the importance of internal checks and balances for the party’s long-term survival and electoral credibility.
“You need to be able to tell your government in power that this is wrong because it does not augur well for our party.”
He further explained that once the party’s flagbearer becomes president, their primary focus must shift to national governance, making it essential for the National Chairman to take charge of the party’s affairs.
“You are a member of the party, you rise to become the flagbearer of the political party, but you are still a member of the political party, and then there is a national chairman of the political party who must be the leader of the political party.
“When you move into government because you are the government in waiting, you must focus on the governance of the country, whilst the leader of the party, who is the national chairman, leads the party.”
According to Dr. Boakye-Danquah, the NPP’s internal struggles in recent years can be traced to the absence of this clear separation of responsibilities.
“That is where we have always had that challenge because there is not that clear dichotomy where you have a strong leader… If we make you the president, the leader of the political party, you could run the political party into the ditch because your focus is divided.”
