Former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Paul Afoko, has opened up about the emotional toll his suspension from the party took on him, describing it as one of the most painful experiences of his political journey.
Speaking in an interview with Accra-based Starr FM on Thursday, September 4, 2025, Afoko revealed that his suspension left him deeply embittered to the point where he could not bear to watch NPP-related programmes on television.
According to him, the fallout from the suspension not only shook his trust in party members but also made him consider abandoning politics entirely.
He described the period as one filled with betrayal from individuals he now regards as dishonest and untruthful.
Reflecting on the events, Afoko said that after pursuing the matter in court and facing what he termed a bizarre judgment, he resolved never to seek any active position within party politics again.
He said “After my suspension had gone through and I went to court, and the court came up with that bizarre judgment, I walked away and said, Never again. I’m not going to look for any active position in party politics, because it’s a thankless job.
“These days, when I see them on TV, I don’t change channels. I used to change channels because I couldn’t stand the sight of people I believed were liars.”
Afoko further disclosed that it was the advice of former President John Agyekum Kufuor that helped him gradually release the anger he harboured.
Afoko indicated that by 2017, he had finally begun to release the anger that once consumed him, and seeing NPP members on television no longer troubled him.
He stated that “There were points at which I was so incandescent with rage. But one day, I went over to former President Kufuor and he said to me, ‘You’re still angry. Your anger is eating you. Let it go. Why are you angry?”
Paul Afoko was suspended in 2015 as the NPP National Chairman following internal party disagreements, a decision that sparked controversy and division within the party at the time. Though he challenged the suspension in court, he was unsuccessful.
Now, nearly a decade later, Afoko admits the suspension remains one of the most painful chapters of his political career, but says he has come to terms with it.
