Nana Yaw Osei, spokesperson for former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Paul Afoko, says his boss’s contribution to the party’s 2016 electoral victory cannot be overlooked.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, Mr. Osei said Mr. Afoko’s organisational and leadership skills were instrumental in securing the NPP and then-flagbearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s overwhelming win in the 2016 general elections.

“Afoko and co organised the party parliamentary primaries and presidential primaries for the 2016 election before he left office. The organisation and leadership gave the NPP 169 MPs in 2017, and elected the president of the party. So nobody can take the credit from Afoko and his team at that time. We have done all the work; the rest was for people to come and eat, and indeed, the victory came, and they have enjoyed the benefit of the victory,” he said.

Mr. Osei further argued that the NPP’s subsequent performance at the polls demonstrates the need for renewed leadership under Paul Afoko.

“In 2020, that number reduced from 169 to 137. As we speak, from 137 to 87, is this a party in any better shape and form?” he asked.

His comments follow Mr. Afoko’s recent declaration of his intention to contest the NPP’s National Chairmanship position in the upcoming national officers’ election.

In a statement titled “Declaration of Intention to Contest the National Chairmanship Position of the New Patriotic Party,” Mr. Afoko said his decision comes after extensive reflection and encouragement from party members and stakeholders who have called for a renewed sense of leadership within the NPP.

Paul Afoko was suspended in 2015 as the NPP’s National Chairman following a decision by the party’s National Executive Committee at an emergency meeting at the party’s headquarters in Accra.

The suspension followed a recommendation by the NPP’s Disciplinary Committee after the Council of Elders, in a seven-page petition, called for disciplinary action against him.

Mr. Afoko was accused by some party members of working against then-flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo’s chances ahead of the 2016 elections. He reportedly failed to honour multiple invitations from the Disciplinary Committee before the recommendation for his suspension was made.