The Member of Parliament for Gushegu, Hassan Tampuli, has reaffirmed the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) commitment to its national character, cautioning against attempts to frame the party along ethnic or religious lines.
Speaking at a political engagement in Gushegu in support of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s bid, Mr. Tampuli stressed that the NPP was founded on principles of inclusivity, national unity and broad-based participation, not sectional interests.
He said Ghana’s political history and constitutional framework clearly reject discrimination based on tribe, religion or region, noting that the NPP’s philosophical roots are firmly anchored in those principles.
According to the Gushegu MP, the party’s foundations are tied to key moments in the country’s constitutional and political development, beginning with the passage of the Avoidance of Discrimination Act in 1957 under the government of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. He explained that the Act outlawed sectional, tribal and religious political parties, a principle later reinforced in Article 55(4) of the 1992 Constitution.
Mr. Tampuli traced the origins of the NPP to a broad coalition of political movements, including the National Liberation Movement, Northern People’s Party, Togoland Congress, Muslim Action Party and the Ga Shifimo Kpee Party. He said these groups later merged to form the United Party, which eventually evolved into the New Patriotic Party.
He warned against what he described as attempts by “little minds” to distort the party’s history or advance narrow agendas that undermine its cohesion and national appeal, insisting that the NPP would resist any effort to turn it into an ethnic or religious organisation.
“Let’s not make a mistake. The NPP party is a national party. In December 1957, the Nkrumah government passed the Avoidance of Discrimination Act in which Parliament outlawed sectional, tribal and religious parties and that has been repeated in the 1992 Constitution under Article 55.4 that says that every political party should be national in character. The NPP will continue to remain a national party,” he said.
