A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko, has called for an end to the public bickering among party members and urged a focus on expanding the party’s grassroots base.

“We need to grow the party and not control it,” he stated.

Mr Agarko last Tuesday announced his intention to contest the national chairmanship of the party after what he described as consultations “with members of my family and those who are very close to me, and whose lives would be most affected by the decisions I make.”

In a statement announcing his intention to contest for the position, he said he had been attentive to the demands of the party's grassroots and the wider public, saying, "I have also listened carefully to what the broad masses of our party people, and indeed many outside our party, are asking of me."

"Having factored in all the considerations, I see it as my bounden duty to respond to this call to duty, and hereby announce that I will contest for the position of national chairman of my party upon the opening of nominations," he said.

Disconnect

Mr Agyarko, who served as Minister for Energy under former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, criticised what he saw as a growing disconnect between the party’s leadership and its base.

In a radio interview after declaring his intention, he argued that the disconnect was partly responsible for declining engagement among ordinary members.

“There are many people whose lives remain unchanged, whether the party is in power or in opposition. So, once they become frustrated, they lose interest in the party,” he said.

Bickering

Mr Agyarko also cautioned the NPP against excessive public bickering.

He said Ghanaians were more concerned about solutions to their daily challenges than political noise and warned that the party risks losing public confidence if it continued with internal disputes in the open.

He cited the ongoing dispute involving the Bono Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe Abronye, and the party’s leadership, and advised that such issues be resolved internally.