A member of Dr. Bryan Acheampong’s campaign team says the New Patriotic Party (NPP) must deliberately break internal factionalism and create space for all sides to work together if it hopes to return to power in 2028.
Raphael Kpinn, a communication assistant to Acheampong, spoke on A1 Radio after the party’s Jan. 31, 2026 presidential primary, in which delegates elected former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as flag bearer for a second time.
Mr. Kpinn said the outcome should be seen as a collective party decision rather than an individual victory.
“It was not just an individual who won. The processes and then the final outcome show that the party is together and the party won,” he said. “Once the delegates decided, all of us are going to come together to work for the main cause of the party, which is securing victory come 2028.”
He pledged that Acheampong and his entire team would back Bawumia’s candidacy.
“Our hands are on board, everybody, right from Dr. Bryan Acheampong himself to the last person in his team, supporters and sympathizers — we are all out to support the cause of the New Patriotic Party from now going into 2028,” Mr. Kpinn said. “We have broken our ranks, we have broken our factionalism … and we are now members of the NPP agenda for 2028. So we will support our flag bearer … we will support his vision, we will support his campaign, we will support everything to ensure that we secure victory come 2028.”
Dr. Acheampong placed second in the contest with 36,303 votes, representing 18.53% of the 195,901 valid votes cast, in a five-way race that also included Kennedy Agyapong, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong and Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum.
Rejects ‘disruptor’ theory
Asked about a theory circulating in some party circles that Dr. Acheampong may have been used as a “disruptor” to split votes that might otherwise have gone to Kennedy Agyapong, Kpinn rejected the suggestion.
“Everybody has the right to analyze things the way they see them,” he said. “Bryan Acheampong meant business, and the results, the outcome of the votes, show that Bryan Acheampong meant business. He wanted to be the one elected to lead the party because he is competent, he is capable, he is visionary.”
He said it would be inaccurate to claim Acheampong’s votes were simply diverted from other candidates.
“We cannot just say that the votes that Bryan Acheampong got were votes either meant for Kennedy Agyapong or Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,” he said.
Still, Mr. Kpinn acknowledged that the primary results highlight work the party must do internally. “I agree at some level that from today, the party has great work to do, especially within the base of the party,” he added.
Warning against exclusion
Kpinn said unity must go beyond slogans and involve practical inclusion of supporters from all camps.
“We need to put everybody together. We must allow everybody to function in our efforts between now to 2028,” he said.
He pointed to sentiments on social media suggesting that some party members who backed other candidates might be sidelined going forward.
“Even on social media we find some people who say that because somebody campaigned for a different candidate … and is seeking to contribute towards the campaign going to 2028, [they] will not be let to do so,” Kpinn said. “If we should keep such attitude, then our numbers will continue to go down.”
He described concerns at the grassroots level as “public knowledge,” while declining to go into detail. “The base has issues … and the only way to resolve those issues is to ensure that there is real and practical togetherness and unity,” he said.
According to him, excluding people because of their preferred candidate in the primary would deepen resentment.
“If you want to say that ‘I campaigned for Dr. Bawumia, you didn’t, so we are not going to give you opportunity to also contribute,’ it simply means you are saying that you do not want people to come together,” he said. “That is where the base will continue to be disgruntled … and that will not be good for us. We must break the factionalism and allow everybody, put everybody together.”
Early signs of reconciliation
Mr. Kpinn cited what he described as early steps toward reconciliation, including reports from the Northern Region where, he said, regional executives had brought together different campaign camps for talks.
“They have called them together … and they had conversations starting the processes of rebuilding, coming together and the unity processes,” he said. “These are the things that we should do.”
He also urged candidates to guide their supporters to tone down divisive rhetoric.
“Every candidate must advise their followers to ensure that we must be measured in our commentary so that we don’t make others feel marginalized, don’t make others feel not part of the NPP family,” Kpinn said.
Only through broad inclusion, he added, can the party position itself to “wrestle power from the NDC come 2028.”
Source: A1 Radio | 101.1 Mhz | Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith | Bolgatanga
