Full statement:

Kukrudu!
Kukrudu!!
Kukrudu!!!
My fellow Patriots,
Members of the National Council and National Executive Committee, members of the Council of Elders and Council of Patrons, Members of Parliament, former Ministers and Deputy Ministers, former MMDCEs, former Members of Parliament, Regional and Constituency Executives, Electoral Area and Polling Station Executives, members of the External Branches, TESCON, our hard-working Communicators, members of the media, distinguished ladies and gentlemen:

Today, with a grateful heart, a clear conscience and an unwavering commitment to the New Patriotic Party, I have formally filed my nomination to seek your mandate for another term as the General Secretary of our great Party.
I do so with humility.

I do so with the consciousness of the enormous responsibility that comes with this office. Above all, I am convinced that we have begun rebuilding the New Patriotic Party, and we must finish what we have collectively started.

WE HAVE BEEN TESTED.
My fellow Patriots, our Party, has travelled through difficult times like any other political party across the globe.
The outcome of the 2024 general elections was painful. We cannot pretend otherwise.
After the 2024 elections, we heard the disappointment of our supporters and the frustration of our grassroots supporters. We shared the pains of our parliamentary candidates, constituency officers, polling station executives, communicators, volunteers, and the millions of Ghanaians who have placed their confidence and hope in our tradition over the years.
What an unexpected and unbearable defeat!!!
Defeat must never destroy a noble political tradition.
Defeat must teach us golden lessons.
Defeat must humble us.
Defeat must compel us to examine ourselves, make introspective assessment and reflections, position us to correct our mistakes and rebuild.
I believe that is precisely what we have been doing.
When the storm came, I did not bolt away nor abandon the ship.
When the pressure mounted, I did not go to sleep.
When the Party needed leadership, I did not retreat.
I stayed at the post.
“As Richard Nixon once reminded us, ‘A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.’
My fellow Patriots, 2024 did not finish the NPP. We are not quitters. We have learnt, we have reorganised, and we have begun rebuilding.
The task now is to rise stronger, rebuild together and march confidently towards victory in 2028.
Together with the gallant Party officers across the country and beyond, we kept the structures together. We confronted difficult questions. We took difficult decisions.
We listened.
We learnt.
And we started the difficult work of reforming and rebuilding the Party.
Today, I stand before you to acknowledge that not everything has been perfect.
It has not.
We took bold steps to identify weaknesses, confronted them and started building the systems necessary to put this Party back on track.
The results of these reforms are starting to become evident.
WE CHOSE REFORMS OVER EXCUSES.
Under my stewardship, we have pursued reforms intended not for one individual, but for the long-term strength of the New Patriotic Party.
We established a functional legal directorate to strengthen the Party’s capacity to protect its interests and electoral mandate.
We strengthened internal democracy and worked to make our internal electoral processes more transparent.
We undertook constitutional reforms to address structural weaknesses and recurring disputes.
We have strengthened and expanded our communications architecture down to the grassroots.
We operationalised the Patriotic Institute because a political tradition that does not deliberately teach its values, philosophy and history to the next generation risks losing its identity.
We revived the Party’s Sector Committees because the NPP must remain a Party of ideas, policy, innovation and solutions for Ghana.
We have worked on the Executive Manual to clearly define the responsibilities of Party officers and reduce unnecessary internal role conflicts.
In addition, we established structures for continuous political strategy because preparation for a general election cannot begin when the election is already at our doorstep.
These are not slogans.
They are structures.
They are reforms.
They are foundations upon which we must now build.
SOMETIMES LEADERSHIP REQUIRES AN UNPOPULAR DECISION.
My fellow Patriots, there are moments in the life of every political organisation when leadership requires you to choose what you believe is right for the Party, even when that choice is initially perceived unpopular.
The decision to elect our Presidential Candidate early as part of our reorganisation was novel.
However, it was initially criticised. Some genuinely disagreed with it.
But we remained convinced that after the turbulence of 2024, the Party needed clarity at the top as early as possible. We needed to remove one major source of uncertainty and give ourselves enough time to reorganise around a common political objective.
Today, look at the Party.
The tension has reduced. The uncertainty has reduced. There is greater sanity and tranquillity within our ranks. Our flagbearer is settled. The Party can now concentrate its energies on rebuilding its structures and preparing for the battle ahead.
Leadership is not always about making the popular decision. Leadership is about having the courage to take the right and bold decisions at the right time in the larger interest of the Party.
And by the grace of God and with your support, we kept this Party together.
That is why today I can say, with all humility, that I am ready to work in partnership with the Presidential Candidate, H.E. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
I am ready, I am Prepared, I am institutionally, administratively and operationally well-positioned.
Kindly give me a working Chairman,
A Chairman who is ready to steer the affairs of the Party in unity,
and we shall work closely to prevail and recapture power in 2028.
This is indeed possible because our base is charged, poised and hungry for power and to make H.E. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia the President of the Republic of Ghana in 2028.
If we have been able to build these structures, undertake these reforms, and hold this Party together under extraordinary circumstances, then imagine what we can accomplish when the National Chairman, General Secretary and all officers at each level of the Party work together with one purpose, one direction, and one determination to return the NPP to power.
The evidence of what we have so far done is there for every Patriot to testify.
I HAVE HEARD YOU ON THIS CAMPAIGN TOUR.
Over the past weeks, I have travelled across this country and sat with our delegates.
I have listened more than I have spoken.
And some of the testimonies have touched me deeply.
Some have spoken about accessibility. Some have spoken about humility. Some have spoken about the fact that when they called, I answered.
But one testimony has repeatedly touched my heart.
There are Party officers who openly did not support me when I first sought for this office. Some campaigned against me. Some voted against me.
But when the election ended, I refused to treat them as enemies or political opponents.
Why? Because the internal election ended, our commitment for the NPP continued and remained unalloyed.
You may not have voted for me, but you remained a true Patriot. You might have supported my opponent, but you remained part of the family I had been elected to serve.
And whenever I had the capacity to support a Party officer, I did not first ask, “Did you vote for me?”
I asked: “What can we do to help?”
That is the Party I believe in.
Our internal contests must never become permanent wars. After each internal election, we should be able to embrace each other, shake hands, and collaborate once more.
Because our opponents are outside this Party — not within.

THE NEXT PHASE: PREPARATION
My fellow Patriots, 2028 will not be won in 2028.
That preparation must begin now.
I am therefore putting before you a clear programme for the next term.
First, we will work to mobilise the resources necessary to prosecute the 2028 campaign effectively.
And let me be clear: the resources of this Party must reach the structures that actually fight the election.
Our constituency executives cannot be expected to organise, mobilise, communicate and protect the Party’s votes without the necessary and adequate resources required to do the work.
We will therefore establish transparent and accountable mechanisms to ensure that campaign resources intended for constituency operations are delivered directly to our constituency structures for the purpose for which they are intended.
Second, we will establish robust structures for the early election and selection of our parliamentary candidates and other relevant internal processes preceding the general election.
We cannot continuously spend precious election-year resolving internal contests when our political opponents are already campaigning against us.
We need sufficient time after our internal elections to heal, reconcile, organise and campaign together.
Third, there will be coordinated training and orientation for Party officers at all levels.
From the Polling Station to the electoral area, constituency, region and national level, every officer must understand his or her responsibilities.
We will build a Party in which people do not merely occupy positions. They must know the work. They must be equipped for the work. And they must deliver.
PREPARED is not merely a campaign word. It must become the organisational culture of the New Patriotic Party.

THE WELFARE OF THE PARTY PEOPLE
But organisation alone is not enough.
There is another matter that weighs heavily on the hearts of our people: WELFARE.
Too many Patriots have sacrificed their time, their resources, their businesses and sometimes their livelihoods for this Party, only to feel forgotten when victory comes.
We must learn from that.
We must never again build a government and neglect the Party that worked to produce it.
Party-government relations must change.
The welfare of our officers must matter. Their development must matter. Their opportunities must matter. Their dignity must matter.
And when, by the grace of God and the hard work of our Party officers, the NPP returns to government, we must build a deliberate system that keeps the Party connected to the government.
I am ready to work with our flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, and the entire leadership of our Party to ensure that the concerns and legitimate needs of our Party structures are never treated as an afterthought.
WE HAVE LEARNT
My fellow Patriots, we have learned lessons from the government. We have learned lessons from the opposition. We have learnt lessons from 2024.
We know what happens when the Party and government become disconnected. We know what happens when campaign preparation starts too late. We know what happens when resources do not reach the structures that need them. We know what happens when internal disputes are allowed to consume the energy needed to fight our political opponents. We know what happens when our grassroots become discouraged.
And because we have learnt these lessons, we must not repeat them.
We must rebuild differently. We must prepare differently. We must organise differently. We must communicate differently. And we must govern differently when the Ghanaian people return us to office.

2028 IS POSSIBLE
To every discouraged Patriot listening to me today: Lift your head.
The NPP can return. The NPP will return.
But victory will not come because we are the NPP. It will come because we work for it.
It will come because we rebuild trust. It will come because we are organised. It will come because we listen to the Ghanaian people. It will come because we prepare. It will come because we remain united.
Every polling station officer, electoral area coordinator, constituency executive, regional officer, MP, parliamentary candidate, communicator, volunteer, and member knows their vital role in this rebuilding.
With the readiness and hard work I have witnessed across the country, I am convinced that this Party can return to power and form the next government with Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as President of the Republic of Ghana.

WHY JFK AGAIN?
And so, delegates of our great Party, as you prepare to make this important decision, I respectfully ask you to consider a simple question:
The rebuilding has already started.
Who understands the reforms already underway?
Who best understands the process
Who has remained accessible to the grassroots?
Who stayed at post when the Party went through its difficult moments?
Who has demonstrated that internal contest do not have to become permanent enemies?
Who has begun building the systems and structures required for the battle ahead?
I submit myself to you once again.
Not because the work is finished.
I submit myself because the work must be finished.
I am PREPARED – because we have studied our setbacks, identified what must change and begun implementing the solutions.
I am WELL-POSITIONED – because I understand our structures, remain connected to our grassroots and know the reforms that must now be completed.
I am FOCUSED – because this election is not about personal ambition; it is about rebuilding a Party capable of winning back the confidence of the Ghanaian people.
And I am asking you: let us REBUILD – together.
MY COVENANT WITH YOU
Party officers, you are not merely names in an album.
You are the backbone of the New Patriotic Party.
You are the people who coordinate the activities of the Party at the polling stations. You are the people who mobilise our communities. You are the people who defend our record. You are the people who campaign when the road is difficult. You are the people who protect our votes. You are the people who carry this Party when nobody is watching.
And therefore, you deserve leadership that sees you, listens to you, respects you, equips you and stands with you.
The battle ahead requires a General Secretary who is PREPARED for the task, WELL-POSITIONED within the structures, FOCUSED on the mission and determined to REBUILD this Party from the polling station to the national headquarters.
I am Justin Frimpong Kodua – JFK.
I stayed at the post when the storm came.
I helped hold the Party together when the road became difficult.
I have started the reforms.
I know the work that remains.
And today, I ask for your mandate to finish it.
Do not grant me your vote merely for another term.
Grant me your vote for the next phase of the rebuilding.
Give me your hand. Give me your trust. Give me your mandate.

AND TOGETHER PREPARED.
TOGETHER WELL-POSITIONED.
TOGETHER FOCUSED.
AND TOGETHER WE WILL REBUILD.
We will rebuild our structures.
We will rebuild confidence in our grassroots.
We will rebuild the bond between the Party and its people.
We will rebuild the trust of the Ghanaian people.
And, by the grace of Almighty God, we will rebuild the New Patriotic Party for VICTORY in 2028 and beyond!
The elephant will rise again.
The NPP will rise again.
And together, we shall PREVAIL AND MARCH back to victory.
Kukrudu!
Kukrudu!!
Kukrudu!!!
May God bless our great Party.
May God bless all our hard-working party officers and delegates.
And may God bless our homeland Ghana.
Thank you.