The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) strategically important Ashanti and Eastern regions appear to be developing clear preferences ahead of the party’s regional chairmanship elections, with Kwadwo Boateng Agyemang, popularly known as Chairman Cudjoe, emerging as a leading contender in the Eastern Region and Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, known as Asanteman COKA, commanding significant support in Ashanti.
Feedback from delegates and constituency-level executives suggests the two aspirants have built strong grassroots networks and are benefiting from their organisational experience and long-standing involvement in constituency affairs.
The contests, however, remain open, with both camps expected to intensify mobilisation as voting approaches.
The elections carry considerable significance because Ashanti and Eastern are central to the NPP’s electoral and organisational calculations.
Their regional chairmen will be expected to help rebuild grassroots structures, restore confidence among supporters and strengthen the party’s machinery ahead of the 2028 elections.
Cudjoe banks on grassroots experience
In the Eastern Region, Cudjoe’s campaign is being driven largely by his extensive constituency-level experience.
The former New Juaben North Constituency Chairman served three terms in the position and was re-elected on April 30, 2022, before resigning to contest the regional chairmanship.
His campaign argues that his experience at the constituency level gives him a practical understanding of the organisational challenges facing the NPP.
Cudjoe is contesting Jeff Konadu Addo and is seeking to persuade delegates that his record makes him the better candidate to lead the party’s rebuilding efforts across the region.
“I have been with them in the trenches for years. I know what the constituencies need to be able to deliver victory in the 2028 elections,” he said.
His campaign has focused on strengthening constituency organisations, reconnecting the party with its grassroots and improving coordination between the regional and constituency structures.
‘Chairman of chairmen’
Having led New Juaben North for three terms, Cudjoe has positioned himself as a candidate capable of translating constituency experience into a coordinated regional strategy.
“As the chairman of chairmen in the Eastern Region, I understand the dynamics of the region and have the experience to help the NPP break the eight,” he stated.
His campaign theme, “Bringing the People Together & Keeping the Hope Alive to Rejuvenate NPP Superiority in the Eastern Region,” highlights unity, grassroots mobilisation and the restoration of the party’s electoral strength.
His supporters believe his repeated victories at the constituency level demonstrate grassroots confidence that could translate into a regional mandate.
COKA campaigns on reconciliation
In Ashanti, COKA has built his campaign around reconciliation and restoring relationships between the NPP and sections of its support base.
The former Afigya Kwabre South Constituency Chairman has presented himself as a unifying candidate capable of reconnecting with party members and sympathisers who have become disillusioned with the NPP.
His campaign has received a strong endorsement from Tano North MP and NPP flagbearer Dr Gideon Boako, who described COKA as a “super glue” capable of reconnecting sections of the party.
Dr Boako said COKA had engaged aggrieved party supporters, businessmen, religious leaders and other stakeholders in an effort to rebuild trust.
“If you look at COKA’s movement and the steps he is taking, you will see he has decided to be the reconciliator in our party, going to businessmen and pastors who are angry with us to appease them,” he said.
According to Dr Boako, some of those approached had been difficult for the party to engage because of previous disagreements, but COKA had continued reaching out to rebuild relationships.
‘Bringing back disillusioned supporters’
Dr Boako said the importance of COKA’s approach extended beyond the regional contest, arguing that the NPP’s return to power in 2028 would depend partly on its ability to reconnect with supporters who became disillusioned and either stayed away from the 2024 polls or shifted allegiance.
“So if we are looking for someone who has built a relationship with the people who did not vote because of anger, then Odeneho Kwaku Appiah is the only man who can convince them to vote for NPP again,” he said.
He described COKA’s grassroots engagement as a major reason for his support for the former constituency chairman.
Calling COKA the NPP’s “super glue in the Ashanti Region,” Dr Boako said the region needed a chairman capable of bringing competing groups together and repairing damaged relationships.
“He is the one Ashanti NPP needs now,” he declared.
Elections test NPP rebuilding strategy
The apparent strength of Cudjoe and COKA has given the regional elections added significance as the NPP begins rebuilding after its 2024 electoral defeat.
The contests are being viewed not merely as internal elections but as tests of competing approaches to party organisation.
Cudjoe’s campaign in Eastern is centred on constituency experience, organisational coordination and electoral mobilisation, while COKA’s Ashanti campaign emphasises reconciliation and rebuilding relationships.
Both approaches address critical challenges confronting the NPP as it prepares for 2028.
However, despite their apparent advantages, the contests remain unpredictable. Delegate preferences can shift in the final stages, while campaign organisation and mobilisation on election day could prove decisive.
Both camps are therefore expected to maintain an aggressive final push for undecided delegates.
The results will ultimately determine whether Cudjoe and COKA can convert their grassroots support and organisational claims into decisive victories—and whether their respective visions of mobilisation, reconciliation and party renewal will influence the next phase of the NPP’s political reconstruction.
