Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, former Minister for Communications and long-time lawmaker, has formally declared her candidacy for General Secretary of Ghana’s New Patriotic Party (NPP), launching a campaign aimed at reuniting and restructuring the center-right party following its 2024 electoral defeat.
The announcement, delivered Monday via a statement on her official Facebook page, came on her birthday and was laced with appeals to party loyalists to back what she described as a mission to “rescue” the NPP from its current state of disarray and disillusionment.
“A lot of water has passed under the bridge since our stormy face-off with ourselves and our base,” Ms. Owusu-Ekuful wrote. “We came out bruised, our individual and collective egos battered… However, as our great tradition has demonstrated over the years, we will thrive.”
The former Ablekuma West Member of Parliament emphasized a platform focused on rebuilding trust and confidence from the grassroots level to the national leadership. She positioned herself as the candidate best equipped to steer the NPP through a critical period of introspection and reorganization in preparation for the 2028 general elections.
“We must re-shape, re-organize, and put ourselves in a good place to effectively represent the desired change and restore the belief of Ghanaians in us as the institutors of growth and development,” she said.
Ms. Owusu-Ekuful took pointed aim at the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), branding it a “caretaker government” that, in her words, “lied their way into government” and “caused belief in us to wane.”
“This accident-of-a-government is not preferred—it is tolerated,” she claimed, adding that the NPP’s return to power must be driven by a restored sense of purpose, unity, and competence.
Describing herself as “nurtured, proven, and prepared,” the former minister framed her bid as a call to action for disheartened party faithful. “On this day of my birth, Patriots, I come before you, the fighter you have always known… to join you on this collective journey,” she said.
The race for NPP General Secretary is expected to be closely watched as the party seeks to redefine its leadership and direction following its defeat in the 2024 elections. Ms. Owusu-Ekuful, known for her combative style and outspoken stance on party and national issues, is anticipated to be a leading contender in what could be a highly contested internal vote.
She ended her declaration with a rallying appeal: “Let us commit to the struggle, for I know with unity and God on our side, as well as the collective will of the Ghanaian people, we shall overcome.”
