Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has condemned religious and tribal bigotry, which are creeping into the New Patriotic Party (NPP), as the campaign for the party’s 2028 flagbearer intensifies.
At the launch of the NPP’s ideological institute, the Patriotic Institute, in Accra this morning, President Kufuor expressed concern about the development, saying such divisive tribal and ethnic utterances by some members of the NPP, targeted at others, lend credence to the age-old accusation that the NPP is a “tribal party.”
“We are democratic and we uphold common humanity,” President Kufuor said of the values of the NPP, attracting wide applause from his fellow patriots present.
“Democracy doesn’t go in for tribe, religion, and gender. It is the individual. One man, one vote. And if we want power, we want to present a person who will be convincing to the generality of the electorate.”
“Can this man we are presenting help solve problems for the community at large so the benefits spread across the board for all?”
The former President urged members of the NPP to look at issues “this way if we tell the truth to ourselves.”
He expressed worry that such bigotry, being perpetuated by some members of the party, further casts doubt on the NPP as a national party.
“We may see that the way we have been brushed by our opponents from way back; oh, you’re a tribal party. These days, we are even including religion. You do that and it comes from our own mouths, then I tell you we are perpetuating it.”
President Kufuor called for an end to this unfortunate development to help the NPP “get out of the rat hole.”