Kennedy Agyapong has delivered a candid assessment of what he believes led to the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) poor showing in the 2024 elections, insisting that the leadership’s failure to heed grassroots concerns and acknowledge growing internal frustrations played a major role in their defeat.
Agyapong stated that he had repeatedly cautioned party leaders about neglecting the foot soldiers and core supporters who had toiled for the NPP’s electoral victories.
According to him, instead of addressing these concerns, his warnings were dismissed—and worse, used as political ammunition against him.
“I was telling them the truth and they didn’t listen. Rather, they used it against me,” he said on Pan African TV monitored by MyNewsGh, describing how some within the party accused him of creating disaffection through his public criticisms.
But the former presidential hopeful maintains that the party’s downfall was not because of his honesty, but because its leaders ignored the very people who sustained the NPP’s base.
He shared anecdotes that illustrated a growing disconnect between party elites and everyday Ghanaians.
One such encounter involved a banker who used former Vice President Bawumia’s own famous line—“When your fundamentals are weak, your exchange rate will expose you”—to criticize the government’s economic management.
“Another instance involved a party worker who, having invested her pension into bonds, watched her life savings vanish without any assistance or explanation from party leadership.
To Agyapong, these were not isolated incidents but indicative of widespread disillusionment. Business owners were struggling, civil servants were frustrated, and young people were giving up on politics altogether—not because they didn’t care, but because they felt abandoned.
Yet amid the setbacks and accusations, Agyapong says he remains at peace. Reflecting on his loss in the NPP’s flagbearer race, he acknowledged that the defeat had humbled him. “Maybe it was good I lost the first time,” he said.
“It has made me more mature.” In hindsight, he sees the loss as a necessary pause—an opportunity to understand what kind of leadership the country truly needs.
