Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has rubbished the committee set up by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to investigate causes of the party’s overwhelming defeat at the 2024 election.
He described the committee as a “bogus” one lacking credibility.
According to her, the committee is not undertaking an impartial fact-finding mission, but was deliberately formed to push a specific agenda.
“It is a very bogus committee. A committee that is put together just to find certain facts and push a particular candidate away from the candidacy so that we can bring our own you call that a credible fact-finding committee?” she questioned.
Adwoa Safo particularly took issue with the choice of Prof Mike Oquaye as the committee’s chair, citing a conflict of interest. She challenged him to explain why his son, Mike Oquaye Junior lost the Dome-Kwabenya parliamentary seat before passing judgment on the party’s defeat.
“If Prof Mike Oquaye thinks he has integrity and credibility, I want to see the first page of his fact-finding report explaining why his son Mike Oquaye Junior lost the Dome-Kwabenya seat. If he does that with transparency, without bias or prejudice, then I will accept any findings he presents against Dr Bawumia. Otherwise, that report will not hold in this party,” she said.
She argued that the party should have chosen a more neutral and experienced figure to lead the committee.
“His son has lost, and you think he is the best person to lead a fact-finding committee that includes that very constituency? Why not choose an independent person? Couldn’t we find anyone else in the party to chair it?” she asked.
The former MP also rejected any attempt to blame the party’s defeat solely on Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s 2024 flagbearer, suggesting that the process was being manipulated to discredit him.
“We know what we know, and we have heard what we’ve heard. He shouldn’t come and tell us that we should blame everything on Bawumia because Ghanaians don’t want him and that we won’t market him again,” she stated.
She further pointed out that a separate election review report from the Ashanti Region did not blame Bawumia for the party’s loss, arguing that a more experienced individual like Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu should have been tasked with leading the investigation.
“The Ashanti report does not blame Bawumia for the party’s defeat, and that is a credible report. Why couldn’t the same person have done this work for the party? Who has more parliamentary and electoral experience than Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu?” she questioned.
Adwoa Safo warned that if the committee’s findings were politically motivated, it would undermine the NPP’s chances of rebuilding and recapturing power.
“If this report is manipulated, it means we are not serious about rebuilding, regrouping, or recapturing power,” she said.
