Leadership change is the cornerstone of institutional growth, political relevance and democratic vibrancy.
Let me also be quick to admit that some leadership change may not be necessary if they have performed their tasks with competence, zeal and meritoriously. Such leadership are encouraged, motivated, rewarded and kept for as long as it takes so that they can continue to deliver results. Discharging excellent performers could be catastrophic.
In every political Party, the National Executives are elected to add value to the Party to make it stronger, more attractive and more marketable. This, they do by leading effectively, shaping strategy and policy, delivering strong electoral performance, ensuring efficacious grassroots mobilisation and internal cohesion.
However, when leadership “fights” to stay without commensurate progress, stagnation inevitably emerges.
There are times when continuity ceases to be an asset and instead becomes a constraint on innovation and growth.
This reality underscores the growing calls on all the National Executives of the New Patriotic Party seeking re-election to step aside and allow fresh, dynamic, strategic, determined and innoviative leadership to assume responsibility of managing the Party.
One of the most compelling reasons against the re-election of the current NPP executives is leadership fatigue.
Political leadership requires sustained energy, creativity, adaptability, common sense and responsiveness to evolving political dynamics.
Over time, even experienced executives may lose the momentum necessary to drive change and transform the Party. Signs of fatigue often manifest through repetitive failed strategies, lack of grassroots enthusiasm and diminished engagement with party members. We have seen massive evidence of this in the Party in the last three years of the four year tenure of the Ntim, now Butey led administration. The spirit of the Party has vamoosed!
When these patterns become entrenched, retaining the same leadership risks deepening stagnation rather than addressing it.
Closely linked to this concern is the imperative of internal democracy. Strong political institutions thrive on competitive leadership selection processes that prioritise merit, competence, accountability and transparency. The current executives have failed abysmally. They are grasping at straws; and do not merit re-election. Allowing them to redominate the next leadership of the Party may create perceptions of entitlement, power entrenchment and undermining our democratic resilience as a Party and could devastate our chances of winning in 2028.
Leadership contestations at all levels in the NPP should be an opportunity to serve, work and commit to strengthening our Party.
Electoral performance serves as a critical benchmark for evaluating the National Executives of Political Parties. Leadership must ultimately be judged by its ability to build working party structures, ensure there is discipline in the Party, inspire grassroots mobilisation, improve fundraising, manage internal conflicts effectively, develop a deliverable support and welfare systems for the Party and most importantly win political power to govern.
Where these indicators reveal persistent failings, members are justified in reassessing whether continuity aligns with the Party’s strategic interest.
Leadership change in such circumstances, provides an opportunity for strategic repositioning and renewed confidence.
Furthermore, the evolving nature of political engagement necessitates generational inclusivity and innovation. Modern politics is increasingly shaped by digital communication, issue based activism, and youth driven participation.
Younger members seek platforms for meaningful involvement, policy innovation, and responsive leadership styles. When National Executives fail to adapt to these expectations, a generational disconnect emerges that can weaken organisational cohesion and limit voter appeal. The NPP has been found wanting in youth mobilisation and digitalism.
For four years, the NPP has remained unprepared, unassertive and strategically unplausible. Our plans, actions and objectives lacked a logical, achievable or realistic basis within the context of political competition. We lost our gravitas, appeal and became annoyingly submissive to the National Democratic Congress; and this caused our spectacular defeat in 2024.
Introducing new, smart and ambitious leadership as our executives offers us a pathway to bridge this gap and align our Party with contemporary political realities and modernity.
Grassroots neglect represents another strong argument in favour of wiping out the entire executives. The Party shot itself in the foot when the leadership failed to produce a support plan to look after our grassroots members, volunteers and COMMUNICATORS when we were in government. This reality will hunt the current leadership infinitely.
Political parties derive their strength from their local structures, volunteers, and community networks. However, prolonged non performing leadership tenure may foster perceptions of centralised decision-making, limited consultation, favouritism and inadequate responsiveness to grassroots concerns.
Leadership transition can therefore serve as a symbolic and practical gesture toward rebuilding trust, encouraging inclusivity, and reaffirming the Party’s commitment to bottom-up administration.
In addition, fresh leadership often acts as a catalyst for innovation. New executives bring diverse experiences, strategic creativity and modern approaches to communication, stakeholder engagement and policy formulation.
Innovation thrives in environments where new ideas are welcomed and institutional complacency is challenged. Leadership change thus becomes a strategic tool for revitalising political culture, enhancing adaptability and strengthening resilience in an increasingly competitive political landscape.
Beyond strategic considerations lies the moral dimension of leadership. It carries an ethical responsibility that transcends personal ambition. True leadership is demonstrated not only by the ability to assume power but also by the wisdom to prioritise institutional growth. This is lacking in the NPP.
Leadership transition, when embraced constructively, reflect commitment to legacy, confidence in emerging leaders and dedication to organisational sustainability.
The calls for leadership change in the NPP are therefore fundamentally pointful and anchored on accountability, revitalisation, and institutional progress. Electoral outcomes, organisational vitality, and grassroots confidence are deeply connected to the effectiveness of leadership structures.
Periodic leadership change enables Political Parties to reassess their strategies, re-energise their supporters, and reposition themselves for any competitive elections.
Political Parties grow stronger when leadership evolution is embraced as a necessary element of democratic maturity rather than resisted as a threat to continuity.
The NPP is crippled! The current leadership has no strategy, no operational plan, and no sense of urgency.
The party is being taken for a ride while grassroots members, regional and constituency structures, loyal footsoldiers, and volunteers are left in absolute despair.
The earlier we speak up, the better. If we remain silent and allow this lame and noxious leadership to continue to steer the affairs of the party, we will struggle in the 2028 elections campaign.
We have serious brand damage issues among the general public; yet the leadership is pretending as if everything is excellent. We have a completely dysfunctional base; yet they lie to themselves that our Polling Station Executives do their work satisfactorily, we have a weak, unresourced, demotivated Constituency Executives; yet they profess that they are doing great. Our Regional Executives are low in energy, absent minded and totally unpurposeful; yet the National Executives look on helplessly. Our communicators are disincentivized and struggle daily to promote and defend Party; yet the Party turns its back on them. This pretence must stop! Let’s be deliberate in our search for the most competent, hardworking, committed and result oriented people to fix the so many challenges of the Party. Our responsibility now as a Party is to hire GOAL GETTERS! That is what Corporations do when their revenues and share prices tank.
Currently, the NPP has shown no force, no action, no tact, and no impact. We are weak and not delivering as the real and official opposition. Our remedy is the “micro” competent minority. We need a leadership that can rebrand the Party and remake it a force to reckon with.
The National Steering Committee, which is responsible for the running of the party on a daily basis has failed utterly to guide and supervise the party efficiently. Their inability to maintain attention on the tasks is mainly due to their inadequacy.
If we do not boot out these bunch of incompetent executives and replace them with a proficient team, the party will lose its relevance and many people will step back.
The desperate attempt by some of the National Executives to cling on to power is just for self benefit and not for the good of the Party. They know they have failed miserably but have decided to play “politricks” with us to try their luck. In their minds, we are zombies. We must unleash our full anger at them and let them know that we can no longer put up with the level of ineptness on their watch.
In the clear words of the First Vice National Chairman, now Acting National Chairman, Danquah-Smith Butey, the National Executives “did not deliver the expected results for the Party and for Ghanaians”, admitting that, “leadership must be measured by results, and in this case, we fell short of what was required.” Chairman Butey insisted that, “There is no need to occupy leadership positions if you do not have the capacity and confidence to lead the party to victory”. Leadership, he said must “come with vision, strategy, and the ability to deliver results”.
Let me commend Chairman Butey for speaking the cold hard truth; and for announcing his intention to stand down as Acting National Chairman in September, 2026. He is honest, sincere, truthful and motivated by the NPP first agenda.
The current officers have run out of steam. We need a leadership that represents a completely new way of thinking and doing things to replace this ineffective, non innoviative and wearisome bunch of people.
We must win 2028. To achieve this, we ought to build a strong party led by the most remarkable people as National Executives.
I apologise for such a long read.
I shall return!
By Musah Superior
The writer is a former Tamale mayor.