A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, has cautioned that the party's recent committee, chaired by Professor Mike Oquaye, should not suffer the same fate as the Osafo-Maafo’s committee that was set up to review the 2020 elections.

“We learn history so that we don't commit the mistakes of the past," Nana Obiri Boahen emphasised.

“If they had learned from the lessons of history, the 2024 elections would have been a different ball game altogether," he said.

Context

The former NPP Deputy General Secretary said this in an interview with the Daily Graphic on Prof. Oquaye’s committee established by the party to conduct a thorough post-mortem analysis of the party's defeat in the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Committee’s report

Nana Boahen said the Yaw Osafo-Maafo committee, established in 2021, made recommendations after the 2020 election but were never implemented, adding that the failure contributed to the NPP's poor performance in the 2024 elections.

He questioned the justification for establishing a new committee, wondering if its recommendations would also be shelved.

"What is the assurance that this committee's report will not be shelved as Osafo-Maafo committee's report?" he asked.

Nana Boahen, a former Minister of State, urged the party to implement the recommendations of the current committee, stressing that it should not be shelved.

“This committee's recommendation should not be shelved. It should not be shelved at all,” he emphasised.

Background

The NPP 2024 Election Review Committee was established by the National Executive Committee of the party in January this year with a mandate to investigate the party's performance in the 2024 elections.

The committee is chaired by Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye and other members include Dr Joseph Agyapong Darmoe, Ambassador Kwaku Domfeh, Prof. Kofi Osei Akuoko, Dr Felix Yamoah and Emerita Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu.

The rest are Prof. Samuel Bert, Abdulai Abanga, Seidu Nasigri, a legal practitioner, Eugenia Gifty Kusi, a former Member of Parliament (MP), and F. F. Antoh, a former Vice-Chairman of the party.