“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.” — 1 Corinthians 10:23 (NKJV)
The New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ghana’s leading opposition party not long after its defeat in the 2024 general elections, has announced that it will hold its presidential primaries on Saturday, January 31, 2026. This decision, communicated by the party’s General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua, follows a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and was endorsed by the National Council.
The date, while within constitutional bounds of the party’s rules notably Article 12(a), has stirred debate within party ranks and beyond. At the heart of the matter is not whether the action is legal or not. The real question, as the Apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10:23, is whether it is helpful and edifying.
Article 12(a) of the NPP constitution clearly gives the National Council the authority to schedule the presidential primaries no later than 24 months before a national election. It even grants flexibility to vary the date when deemed appropriate. Legally, therefore, the party leadership is well within its rights to call for a presidential primary at this time.
But lawfulness does not necessarily equate to wisdom.
As Paul asserts, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.” The principle of edification, building up, strengthening and legitimizing is crucial for any democratic institution. For a party reeling from a bruising electoral defeat, what is needed now is healing, reorganization, and a recommitment to internal democratic accountability.
Historically, since the era of President John Agyekum Kufuor, the NPP has followed a bottom-up structure for its internal organization. From polling station executives up through the constituency and regional levels to the national executive, the structure has been participatory and accountable. Only after this process is complete has the party proceeded to elect its flagbearer.
This is not merely procedural tradition, it is a means of renewing the party’s moral authority and grounding its leadership choices in a refreshed and affirmed base.
To reverse this order to have a presidential primary before evaluating the performance of the current executives, is to deny the grassroots the opportunity to pass a verdict on leadership that led the party into defeat. If members have no say in whether to retain or replace national executives, how then can they be expected to fully trust their role in electing the next presidential candidate?
The current national executives argue that their interpretation of Article 12(a) absolves them from seeking a fresh mandate before organizing the primaries. But the optics of this move have raised eyebrows, with some accusing them of manipulating procedure to entrench their positions.
In the absence of a bottom-up reorganization, there will always be the lingering question of legitimacy. Delegates who have not been newly elected especially in a post-defeat environment may not be seen as truly representing the current will of the party’s base.
Would it not be more edifying, and ultimately more strategic, to renew the leadership from the polling stations to the national level first? This would send a strong signal that the party has heard its members, responded to their concerns, and is giving them the power to shape its future direction including who leads it into the 2028 general elections.
The leadership’s justification for the early date is to give the party time to heal and unite after the primaries. But unity that is imposed from the top, rather than forged from the bottom, rarely holds. Unity is stronger when it is built on trust, transparency, and shared ownership of the process.
After a massive electoral loss, members of the NPP need the assurance that their voices still matter and that the path to recovery is not being dictated but shared.
It is lawful for the NPP leadership to hold presidential primaries in January 2026. But is it helpful? Does it edify the party? Does it strengthen its foundation, rebuild trust, and foster legitimate unity?
The Apostle Paul’s words are timeless. In politics, as in faith, wisdom lies not merely in what we can do, but in what we should do.
The NPP must now choose not just lawfulness, but prudence, not just speed, but strength, not just control, but credibility. And that begins by restoring the natural order. Empower the base, renew the executives, and then elect the leader. That is the way to truly build back better.
