 Deputy General Secretary, has refuted claims that the NPP’s withdrawal from the){kind=link}
Haruna Mohammed, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Deputy General Secretary, has refuted claims that the NPP’s withdrawal from the Tamale Central by-election was a political strategy aimed at getting the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to pull out of the Akwatia by-election.
The NPP man asserted that the NDC have already chosen their candidate for the Akwatia by-election, questioning the logic being made against the NPP for withdrawal from the Tamale Central by-election.
Speaking on Channel One on Tuesday, August 12, Haruna Mohammed stated, “They have already chosen their candidate. How do they change their mind? We know very well that they have chosen a candidate. Once they have chosen a candidate, there is no way we can bait them.
“I have heard that they came to issue a statement. It is not different. You have already chosen a candidate and so why come back to tell the people that you are contesting? Who does not know that you are contesting?” he stated.
However, Henry Nana Boakye, the National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said his expectation is for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to withdraw from the upcoming parliamentary by-election for the Akwatia Constituency.
According to Nana Boakye, the NDC has lost five important party dignitaries and going into a fierce contest for them after their burial will not serve their memory.
He asserted that the NDC, in respect of their five members who died in the helicopter crash, should not go into active politics just after their burial.
Speaking in an interview on JoyNews, Nana Boakye stated, “That is my expectation, but then we leave it to them. The reason why I say so is that Akwatia is in the Eastern Region, and the NDC has lost five important party dignitaries, and we are mourning with them.
So, for me, you have a stalwart like Hon. from the Eastern Region, I would say that right after the state burial, then we enter into such fierce contest, for me it will not serve his memory right”.
He added, “I would say that if I were in the NDC, I think that the tension in the country, we can lower it, we can bring it down”.
“Recently, we had Ablekuma, which was a negative story, and then we’ve had this devastating news of this helicopter crash, and after this, we have a by-election ahead of us… It is their decision to make. For us, we are of the view that we do not think that we need to contest in the Tamale Central by-election,” he added.
Nana Boakye’s comments come following the NPP’s decision not to contest following a National Steering Committee meeting held on Monday, August 11, 2025.
The NPP asserts that they believe it would be inhumane and unconscionable to subject the nation to a competitive process in search of a replacement for the late Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed.
In a statement signed by Justin Kodua, the NPP General Secretary, on August 11, 2025, read, “The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has resolved that it would not take part in the Tamale Central Parliamentary by-election to elect a replacement for the late Alhaji Hon. Dr Murtala Mohammed, Member of Parliament (MP) for the Constituency, who was among the ecight (8) who lost their lives in service of the Republic in the helicopter crash that occurred on Wednesday, August 6, 2025.
The statement added, “In arriving at the decision, the Party considered many factors, including the circumstances under which the Tamale Central seat has become vacant and the possibility of a further polarisation of the country at this critical time.
The NPP is of the belief that it would be inhumane and unconscionable to subject the nation to a competitive process in search of a replacement for the departed MP. The Party believes that the tension and acrimony often associated with the conduct of by-elections in the country should be avoided”.
The NPP statement continued, “It is the considered view of the Party that the greatest tribute that the NPP and the rest of the nation can pay in honour of the departed is not only to win the fight against Galamsey but also to ensure a smooth and peaceful replacement for the good people of Tamale Central.