A new leadership rift has emerged in the Volta Regional branch of the New Patriotic Party following a disagreement over the appointment of ten regional officers.

The dispute began after the Volta Regional Chairman, Makafui Kofi Woanyah, announced the appointment of ten individuals to various positions in the regional party structure.

The ten individuals announced in Mr. Woanyah’s statement are Enyonam Morve as Regional Financial Secretary; Alhassan Samadu as Deputy Regional Organiser; Mercy Kpodo as Deputy Regional Women’s Organiser; Innocent Richard Dzamabi as Deputy Regional Youth Organiser; and Karim Raifu as Deputy Nasara Organiser.

The rest are Richard Kwadekpo as Electoral Affairs Officer; Ruben Dorcoo as Research Officer; Eric Kwame Akatsi Dumenu as PWDs Coordinator; Bless Kofi Dunyo Esq. as Legal Representative; and Wisdom Jid Gakpo as Regional Special Duties Officer.

In a statement dated August 26, Mr Woanyah said the appointments were made in consultation with the party’s National Executive Committee and in line with Article 9(2) of the NPP Constitution, as amended in 2025.

However, the elected Regional Executives have rejected the list, insisting that the appointments were never deliberated upon or endorsed at any properly convened meeting of the Regional Executive Committee.

In a counter-statement issued by the Regional Secretary, Shabanton Moses Kwesi Dutsrogbé, the executives argued that since the constitutionally mandated process was not followed, the said appointments cannot be considered a decision of the elected leadership.

The Secretariat referenced Article 9(10) of the NPP Constitution, which stipulates that elected Regional Officers must, within 14 days after their election and in consultation with the NEC, appoint the Regional Officers required under the relevant constitutional provisions.

According to the Secretary, no official meeting of the newly elected Regional Executives had been held since their election to discuss, consider or approve the appointments announced by the Chairman.

He therefore contended that the appointments, allegedly made without the necessary consultation and collective approval, do not reflect the will of the elected Regional Executives.

The Regional Secretariat has declared the appointments “null and void” and urged party members and the general public to disregard them.

It emphasized that the appointments did not emanate from a duly constituted meeting or collective decision of the elected Regional Executives and therefore cannot be presented as the official stance of the regional leadership.

The development has exposed two conflicting positions within the NPP’s Volta Regional leadership, with the Chairman maintaining that the appointments were duly made in consultation with the national leadership, while the elected executives are questioning their legitimacy on constitutional grounds.

This impasse, coming shortly after the new regional executives assumed office, is likely to hamper efforts to fully constitute the team expected to support the party’s administration and activities in the region, and may reignite debate over the interpretation of the party’s constitution regarding the powers of the Regional Chairman, the Regional Executive Committee and the NEC.