Afoko meets Bawumia, Akufo-Addo, Kufuor & others

New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Chairman aspirant Awentami Paul Afoko has embarked on the second phase of a series of high-level consultations with influential figures within the party. The engagements have included meetings with former Vice President and 2024 presidential candidate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, former Presidents Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and John Agyekum Kufuor, as well as former Assin Central MP Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.

Ahead of the party’s January 31, 2026 presidential primaries, Mr Afoko had already held discussions with all five presidential aspirants, including Dr Bryan Acheampong, Ing Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, and Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, as part of efforts to promote unity within the NPP.

Sources close to Mr Afoko say the courtesy visits and stakeholder engagements are part of a broader nationwide consultation strategy ahead of the NPP’s upcoming National Delegates Conference.

Mr Afoko, who served as the party’s National Chairman between 2014 and 2015, is campaigning on his “3R Agenda” — Reunite, Rebuild, and Recapture — which he believes can help return the NPP to power in the 2028 elections.

According to his team, the meetings are intended to draw on the experience of senior party figures, address concerns, and build consensus following the party’s defeat in the 2024 general elections.

“You cannot rebuild a house while ignoring its architects,” a member of Mr Afoko’s team reportedly said. “He is engaging those who have led the party at the highest level because their experience and insight are important.”

The discussions with Dr Bawumia and former President Akufo-Addo are viewed as particularly important due to their influence within the party, while the meeting with former President Kufuor highlights Mr Afoko’s emphasis on unity and preserving institutional memory. His outreach to leading party figures is also seen as an effort to bridge internal divisions.

Although details of the meetings have not been disclosed, sources indicate that Mr Afoko emphasized the need for unity and collective responsibility, urging party members to avoid internal blame games. He is also said to have reiterated his position that the NPP should prioritise competence rather than ethnicity in selecting its next National Chairman.

The latest consultations come after similar engagements with the Ashanti Regional Council of Elders and the Ashanti Regional Executives in Kumasi a few weeks ago. Since officially declaring his intention to contest the chairmanship position, Mr Afoko has been touring the country to engage party stakeholders and influential members, with insiders describing the exercise as both “testing the waters” and “mending fences.”