NPP elders break silence on Tarkwa–Nsuaem registration crisis, fire warning shot at Mireku Duker
The elders have spoken, and their message to the New Patriotic Party’s national leadership is urgent, unambiguous, and laced with the frustration of people who have watched a party stronghold slowly slip away.
Senior figures of the NPP in the Tarkwa–Nsuaem Constituency of the Western Region went public on Monday, March 9, 2026, with a damning assessment of how the party’s ongoing membership registration exercise is being conducted in the area, and they have placed a significant portion of the blame squarely at the feet of former Member of Parliament George Mireku Duker.
Speaking through former NPP Constituency Secretary Mr. Bosco Kofi Naakai, who read a statement on their behalf at a press conference, the elders made clear that their decision to speak out was not taken lightly, but that the situation had deteriorated to a point where silence was no longer an option.
“For decades, many of us have sacrificed our time, resources and energy to build the NPP in Tarkwa–Nsuaem into one of the party’s strongholds,” the statement said. “It is therefore deeply troubling to witness the steady decline of the party in the constituency.”
That decline, the elders noted, has been playing out in plain sight at the ballot box. The party nearly lost its parliamentary seat in 2020, and in 2024, for the first time in the history of the Fourth Republic, the NPP lost both the presidential and parliamentary contests in Tarkwa–Nsuaem, a result that should have served as a wake-up call. Instead, they argue, the internal processes meant to begin rebuilding the party from the ground up are themselves being undermined.
The membership registration exercise, a foundational step toward the election of polling station executives, has become a flashpoint. According to the elders, the process has been marked by a series of procedural violations that fly in the face of guidelines issued by the party’s National Executive Committee and National Council.
Among the irregularities they cited: the constituency leadership’s failure to publish a clear timetable for the exercise, leaving many electoral areas in the dark about dates, venues, and times. In several instances, official membership registers were not released through proper party structures, with some coordinators allegedly refusing to hand over the books to polling stations, and others going as far as claiming the books were not in their possession.
But perhaps the most alarming allegation of all concerns what is being used to record prospective members in the absence of the official registers.
“Even more alarming are reports that names of prospective members are being recorded in ordinary exercise books instead of the official party registers,” the statement said. “This practice undermines the credibility and integrity of the entire registration exercise.”
The consequences have not been limited to administrative disorder. The elders warned that the irregularities have already generated real-world tension, with confrontations reported in several communities including Nkanponasi, Nsuaem, Tarkwa Banso, Layout, and Low cost, some of which came dangerously close to turning violent.
On the matter of Mireku Duker, the elders were direct. They alleged that the former MP had suggested that individuals could register at the party office rather than their designated polling stations, that the constituency chairman could determine who qualifies to contest polling station elections, and that executives at that level could be selected rather than elected, all of which, the elders argued, directly contradict national party guidelines.
“We wish to state clearly and unequivocally that no individual has the authority to determine who qualifies to hold office in the party outside the party’s established guidelines and constitution,” the statement read. “The decision on who qualifies to contest or hold any position cannot and must not be based on the personal preference of any individual, regardless of their past position in the party.”
Their message to the former MP was equally direct: “We therefore urge Hon. Mireku Duker to desist from arrogating to himself powers he does not possess under the party’s guidelines.”
With the NPP’s nationwide membership registration exercise expected to run throughout March 2026, forming the base upon which internal elections and ultimately a national conference will be built, the elders are pressing the regional and national leadership to intervene before the situation in Tarkwa–Nsuaem deteriorates further.
“We call on the Regional and National leadership of the party to urgently intervene and ensure strict adherence to the rules governing the registration exercise in Tarkwa–Nsuaem,” they urged, adding a call for the Constituency Executive Committee to assert its own authority and guarantee transparency through recognised party structures.
Their closing words carried the weight of people who have given decades to a cause they are not prepared to watch be dismantled from within.
“The NPP in Tarkwa–Nsuaem stands at a defining moment. The rebuilding of the party must be anchored on fairness, transparency and genuine grassroots participation, not manipulation and exclusion. As elders who have invested decades in building this party, we will not remain silent when the integrity and future of the NPP in Tarkwa–Nsuaem are at stake.”
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