NPP Accused of Focusing on Funeral Politics Instead of National Issues
Presidential staffer Dr Sammy Ayeh has launched a pointed critique of the New Patriotic Party, accusing the main opposition of fixating on trivial matters while neglecting the substantive policy debates that Ghanaians expect from a credible alternative government.
Dr Ayeh’s comments were prompted by the controversy surrounding the private funeral of the father of Gold Board CEO Sammy Gyamfi. Writing on Facebook, the presidential staffer described the NPP’s attempts to politicise the event as unnecessary and a distraction from matters of genuine national importance.
His argument is straightforward: at a time when Ghana is grappling with economic recovery, job creation, healthcare delivery, education reform, and the challenge of attracting foreign investment, the opposition should be holding the government to account on policy — not dissecting the arrangements of a private family ceremony.
The episode highlights a broader pattern in Ghanaian political discourse that analysts have increasingly flagged. The latest IMANI-PULSE Sentiment Analysis Report noted that Ghana’s online political conversation is slowly shifting from personalities to performance, but incidents like this suggest the transition remains incomplete.
According to Dr Ayeh, the funeral was organised by a private family with relatives more than capable of managing their own affairs, making the political attention it attracted wholly unwarranted. The implication is that the NPP, lacking a coherent critique of government policy, has resorted to manufacturing controversies around personal matters.
The accusation will not go unchallenged. The NPP has in recent months sought to reposition itself following its electoral defeat, with various factions within the party offering competing visions for its future direction. Former National Chairman Paul Afoko recently urged the party to build bridges to the future rather than relitigating old grievances, a message that appears to be at odds with the kind of peripheral controversies Dr Ayeh has criticised.
The exchange also reflects the perennial tension in Ghana’s two-party system between governance and opposition. The ruling party invariably accuses its opponents of being unserious; the opposition accuses the government of deflecting scrutiny. What is notable in this instance is the specificity of the charge — that the NPP is spending political capital on a private family event rather than articulating alternative policies on the economy, infrastructure, or social services.
Whether this critique gains traction beyond the NDC’s base remains to be seen. But it serves as a reminder that in a democracy, the quality of opposition is as important as the quality of governance, and voters are increasingly attentive to which politicians are offering substance and which are offering noise.
Image Source: GHANAIAN TIMES
