The Progressive Alliance for Ghana (PAG) has unanimously endorsed Dr. John Enyonam Kpikpi as its flagbearer and presidential candidate, with Dr. Kpikpi calling on Ghanaians to “reimagine Ghana” starting with integrity at the heart of leadership.
The endorsement came at PAG’s National Delegates Conference held at All Nations School at Ashalley Botwe in Accra on Saturday August 1, 2026, attended by chiefs, national officers, delegates from all 16 regions, and members of the media.
“I Accept This with A Profound Sense of Responsibility”
Opening his acceptance address, Dr. Kpikpi expressed gratitude to God, the party’s founders, and delegates.
“Chiefs, Nananom, National Officers of the Progressive Alliance for Ghana, Honorable Delegates, Members of the Media, Fellow Ghanaians, Ladies and Gentlemen, today I stand before you with a heart of gratitude, humility, and hope. We have hope that we are bending to a prayer,” he said.
“First and above all, I give thanks to Almighty God. Every meaningful journey begins with Him, and every lasting achievement is sustained by His grace. Today is no exception.”
He paid tribute to PAG’s pioneers. “I thank every founder, pioneer, officer, and supporter of the Progressive Alliance for Ghana. I thank God for the vision that you had when Ghana was going nowhere. You gave attention to getting an organization going because you were looking for developing and producing the right leader who will carry this nation to a far better place than we have ever known.”
“I thank every delegate of the Progressive Alliance for Ghana for the confidence you have placed in me by acclaiming me as your flagbearer and presidential candidate. I receive this honor with humility, and I accept it with a profound sense of responsibility.”
“We Must Reimagine Ghana”
Dr. Kpikpi said Ghana needs new dreams, new vision, and a new spirit.
“Today I have a message on my heart for all Ghanaians on this day. I call it: Reimagining Ghana. We all have to reimagine Ghana. We need to have new dreams about Ghana. We have to have new visions for Ghana. We have to have a new spirit completely for Ghana.”
“Many have lost hope. Many have decided that it’s going to be like this, it won’t change. But today, I call on all of us to see a new Ghana before us, to reimagine a new Ghana, to perceive a new Ghana. And we want to start off by reimagining the leadership of Ghana.”
“Everything Rises and Falls on Leadership”
Quoting leadership expert John Maxwell, Dr. Kpikpi argued that leadership is the foundation of national progress.
“You know, there was a famous leadership guru, John Maxwell, who said, ‘Everything rises and falls on leadership.’ I want to say that again. He says everything rises and falls on leadership.”
“If anywhere, any society, any nation, any group is doing well, it’s actually due to good leadership in place. At the same time, if the place is not doing well, there also is a leadership problem.”
He said the leadership Ghana needs must be anchored in integrity.
“The leadership we should reimagine should be one that has integrity at its core. This leadership, their yes is yes, and their no is no. When they speak, they mean exactly that. They are built on truth, and they speak truthfully.”
“When this gets going, we will create a culture at the highest level of leadership, and this culture will begin to be fused throughout this country. You know, they say the fish rots from the head, and Ghana is in this situation because of what we have at the head of our nation right now. We must face the truth. We must be honest with ourselves.”
On Contracts and Corruption
Dr. Kpikpi said reimagined leadership must end the practice of awarding contracts based on payment rather than merit.
“We are looking to reimagine a Ghana where leadership is leading with honesty, so that when contracts are going to be awarded for projects, the contracts will go to people of merit who have put together the greatest proposal and have the capacity to deliver,” he said.
“Rather than what we have now, when contracts go to those who are able to pay a price to the leadership. And when broad contracts are awarded to people who pay the most, then of course they do a shoddy job. Nobody can even chase them. Nobody can supervise them. Nobody can demand anything of them because they’ve already paid those who should supervise them. Now that is leadership going down the drain.”
Using football as an analogy, he said a change at the top can transform everything.
“I’ve watched international football. Sometimes clubs begin to lose all their matches. They are going down. And I’ve watched when the head coach is changed. Suddenly, everything changes. The players are the same. The football is the same. But when you change the leader, suddenly everything changes.”
PAG Endorses Kpikpi
The National Delegates Conference brought together PAG members from across the 16 regions to deliberate on the party’s direction ahead of the 2028 elections. Delegates unanimously endorsed Dr. John Enyonam Kpikpi as the party’s candidate.
Party officials say PAG will in the coming weeks roll out detailed policy proposals under its “Reimagining Ghana” agenda.
