Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Council of Elders, has cautioned flagbearer aspirants against deploying private security groups or “machomen” during the party’s presidential primary scheduled for Saturday. He emphasised that the Ghana Police Service has been assigned to provide security at polling stations nationwide on election day.
“There is no need for private security arrangements. Any group that has engaged such services should dismantle them immediately,” he stated. Mr. Owusu-Agyeman made the remarks during the signing of the party’s peace pact in Accra last Thursday, an initiative by the Presidential Elections Committee to ensure a peaceful and orderly primary process.
Conduct
The Chairman of the Council of Elders underscored that the party’s peace, stability, and unity largely hinge on the conduct of its aspirants. He therefore urged them to place full confidence in the PEC and in Ghana’s established institutions, such as the Police Service, stressing that private security arrangements were unnecessary.
Mr. Owusu-Agyeman cautioned groups seeking to foment unrest to disband immediately, reminding members that the party has consistently conducted peaceful elections since 1992. He further advised aspirants to refrain from making accusations against the committee or the party after the polls, warning that such actions could undermine trust and erode the unity carefully built over the years.
He concluded by emphasising that genuine leadership demands responsibility, restraint, and a commitment to the collective good of the party.
He added that the signing ceremony and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were not symbolic gestures but a commitment to prioritise the party above personal ambition. The aspirants are former Vice-President and 2024 presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; former Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong; Abetifi MP and former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong; Bosomtwe MP and former Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, and former NPP General Secretary, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong.
Several party leaders and state officials attended the ceremony, including the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin; Inspector-General of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohuno; former Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei Opare, and other senior party figures.
Source: Samuel Ohene Ewur
