Former Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Divine Agorhom, has explained why he did not throw his weight behind Dr Bernard Okoe Boye in the party’s recent regional chairman election, despite describing the former Deputy Minister of Health as a close friend and “darling boy”.
According to Agorhom, his decision was not based on doubts about Dr Okoe Boye’s ability to lead the party in the region.
Speaking on Eye Witness News on Citi FM, monitored by GhanaWeb on August 19, 2027, he explained that he had worked closely with the former Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku over the years and even supported his parliamentary ambitions and lobbied for Okoe Boye to become Deputy Health Minister during the previous administration.
Agorhom said he had already committed his support to another candidate before Dr Okoe Boye entered the race and therefore could not abandon that commitment.
“Okoe Boye, honestly speaking, can be described as my darling boy. He is somebody who comes to me with assistance in whichever form… I made that commitment to support Alfred Boye from the very beginning before Okoe Boye also came, I was locked,” he stated.
Agorhom explained that Dr Okoe Boye had been supportive of him throughout his tenure and was someone he had personally invested considerable time and effort in supporting.
“Almost all the two general elections that I was involved in, I spent almost all my time in his constituency campaigning and working for him. He knows that,” he said.
However, he stressed that the regional chairmanship contest was different from the personal relationship between the two men.
He explained that while he voted for Dr Okoe Boye on occasions and mentioned his name to some party members, he deliberately stopped short of campaigning openly for him.
“I voted for him. On a few occasions where I had the opportunity to talk to people, I loosely dropped his name as somebody I would be voting for but you know, this enterprise is like that,” he said.
Agorhom maintained that he knew Dr Okoe Boye’s strengths, popularity and capacity but had to remain mindful of the commitment he had made in the contest.
“I know Okoe Boye. I know what Okoe Boye can do. I know how popular he is within and outside of the party. I know who he has been,” he said.
He further indicated that the outcome of the contest had not damaged their relationship, saying the two had spoken after the election and continued to maintain mutual respect.
“… This is politics, we understand. You win some, you lose some,” Agorhom said.
Dr Okoe Boye eventually won the Greater Accra NPP regional chairmanship election, succeeding Agorhom, who did not seek re-election.
Despite not openly campaigning for him during the contest, Agorhom said he now believes party members must put the internal contest behind them and rally behind the new regional chairman ahead of the 2028 general election.
He said the success of the Greater Accra NPP would ultimately depend on Dr Okoe Boye’s success as regional chairman.
“We need to support him no matter what it is. If we want the region to solve anything, the region’s success will be Okoe Boye’s success, or Okoe Boye’s success will be the region’s success,” he said.
Agorhom also urged Dr Okoe Boye to focus on bringing together all factions and stakeholders within the region, stressing that strong internal support would be crucial to the NPP’s chances of regaining parliamentary seats in Greater Accra in 2028.
