Sukparu warns NPP: Peace pact alone won’t heal divisions

The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) attempt to project unity ahead of its upcoming presidential primaries has come under sharp criticism, with Member of Parliament for Sissala West, Mohammed Sukparu, questioning whether the peace pact signed by aspirants carries any real weight.

The agreement, endorsed by all five contenders in the flagbearer race, was meant to assure party members of a calm contest and a collective commitment to rally behind whoever emerges victorious on January 31, 2026. Yet Sukparu insists the ceremony was more symbolic than substantive.

“Whatever happened at the peace pact signing was just documentation. If you observed the faces of the candidates seated there, there was nothing to suggest that they were demonstrating peace. Peace must be demonstrated, not reduced to a mere signature,” he told Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Monday, January 26.

His remarks highlight growing unease about the tone of the campaign, which has been marked by sharp exchanges and personal attacks. Sukparu accused the party’s leadership of failing to intervene when aspirants crossed the line.

“Right from the word go, you saw some candidates describing others as mad, sick, or accusing them of engaging in illegal activities, yet nobody from the party’s top hierarchy has come out to condemn such behaviour,” he said.

The Sissala West legislator argued that if the NPP is serious about peace, it must go beyond ceremonial gestures. “If they truly want to exhibit the peace they are calling for, they must go beyond mere signatures,” he added.

The primaries, which will decide who leads the party into the 2026 elections, feature a heavyweight lineup: former Assin Central MP Ken Ohene Agyapong, former Agriculture Minister Dr Bryan Acheampong, Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, former Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, and former NPP General Secretary Kwabena Agyei Agyepong.

With tensions already visible, Sukparu’s warning underscores the challenge facing the NPP: whether a signed pact can truly hold back the tide of rivalry in one of the party’s most competitive races in recent memory.