Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, a prominent founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has criticised the party’s current leadership, warning that its reversed approach to internal reorganisation is a guaranteed path to failure.
Speaking on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Friday, January 23, 2026, the veteran statesman argued that the party has abandoned the core organisational principles established by its founders.
His remarks come at a critical juncture as the NPP grapples with the fallout of its 2024 general election defeat and prepares for a high-stakes presidential primary.
Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe contended that after losing power following an eight-year tenure, a political party’s first priority must be a humble return to its base.
He outlined a systematic “bottom-up” model—polling station to constituency, then regional—as the only legitimate way to rebuild.
“The correct approach is to explain the party’s defeat to members at the grassroots level and organise them from the polling station level upwards through the constituency and regional levels before reaching the national level,” he explained. “As you go along doing this, you elect the leadership. This is how we were taught by the founders of the party.”
The party elder did not mince words regarding the current administration’s strategy, which he views as a superficial attempt to fix the party from the executive level down.
“If you don’t go to the grassroots and start from the top, you will fail. That is what I am saying,” he warned, predicting that the ongoing restructuring exercise would ultimately crumble without a foundation of local trust.
His criticisms coincide with the final countdown to the January 31, 2026, presidential primary.
Just 24 hours prior to his remarks, on Thursday, January 22, the five cleared aspirants gathered in Accra to sign a symbolic peace pact, committing to a non-violent and unified campaign.
However, despite the calls for unity, internal data suggests a lopsided race.
According to the final Global Info Analytics poll released this week, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is currently the favourite to lead the party into the 2028 elections.
The upcoming election will serve as a test of whether the NPP can unify behind a “top-down” choice or if the grassroots neglect will lead to the failure Nyaho-Tamakloe predicts for 2028.
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