Former Accra Mayor Blankson Endorses Wontumi for NPP National Chairmanship

Stanley Nii Adjiri Blankson, the former Mayor of Accra, has thrown his weight behind Bernard Antwi Boasiako — widely known as Chairman Wontumi — in his bid to become National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, lending the imprimatur of one of the party’s most seasoned elders to a campaign that has been steadily gathering momentum.

The endorsement came during a meeting in Accra on Tuesday, where Wontumi continued a series of consultations with senior party figures ahead of the NPP’s internal elections. It adds to a growing list of high-profile backers that already includes visits to former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and former National Chairman Freddy Blay.

Speaking at the gathering, Wontumi framed his candidacy around grassroots engagement, arguing that the party’s path back to power runs through its base rather than through elite consensus-building. “Winning elections is a collective effort, not a one-man task,” he said. “I come from the grassroots and I understand their concerns, sacrifices, and expectations. Political victory is not about titles or certificates; it is about understanding and connecting with the grassroots.”

The pitch is a deliberate one. The NPP lost the 2024 general elections to the National Democratic Congress, and the party has since been grappling with internal recriminations and a search for a new direction. Several figures have emerged as potential candidates for the national chairmanship, each offering a different diagnosis of what went wrong and how to fix it.

Wontumi, who served as Ashanti Regional Chairman, is positioning himself as the candidate best placed to bridge the gap between the party’s leadership and its supporters. His pledge to work towards making Mahamudu Bawumia the next president of Ghana — and to be “a National Chairman for all 276 constituencies and all 16 regions” — signals an ambition to unify a party that has been riven by factional disputes since its electoral defeat.

Blankson, for his part, offered a personal endorsement rooted in long acquaintance. “I have been in politics for a very long time, and Wontumi has remained loyal and dedicated to the party,” the former mayor said. “He is my son, and I deeply love him. We will work hard to ensure he wins.”

The former Accra Mayor also entrusted Wontumi with the task of reclaiming lost political ground in the Greater Accra Region, a strategically critical area where the NPP has struggled to make inroads against the NDC in recent cycles.

The endorsement carries weight not only because of Blankson’s stature within the party but also because of what it represents: a veteran of the NPP’s old guard publicly aligning with a younger, more combative figure. Whether that alliance can translate into votes at a party congress remains to be seen, but it underscores the fluid nature of NPP internal politics as the party charts its course towards the 2028 elections.

The party’s internal contests have attracted significant attention, with the Attorney General’s recent Supreme Court filing on party primaries adding a constitutional dimension to the debate over how the NPP selects its leaders.

As the field of candidates narrows and endorsements accumulate, the NPP’s national chairmanship race is shaping up to be a defining test of whether the party can rebuild its coalition and mount a credible challenge in 2028.

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