Lawyer and National Democratic Congress (NDC) communication team member Hamza Suhuyini has claimed that his party has historically been stronger than the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in terms of intellectual leadership, pointing to several prominent lawyers, academics and political figures associated with the NDC.
Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on October 20, 2026, Suhuyini challenged the NPP to identify figures from its political history whom he believes could match the influence and intellectual standing of leading NDC personalities.
He specifically cited renowned lawyer Tsatsu Tsikata as an example, arguing that the NDC’s intellectual tradition has often received less attention than the party’s revolutionary roots.
“… Till date, who in the NPP can stand up to the revered Tsatsu Tsikata? So, if you look at the intellectual wing, the NDC has always been ahead,” he stated.
Suhuyini named several prominent figures associated with the NDC, including the late former President John Evans Atta Mills, former Local Government Minister Kwamena Ahwoi, former Attorney General Martin Amidu and Tsikata.
He also mentioned Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, among the personalities he believes demonstrate the depth of the party’s intellectual tradition.
According to Suhuyini, the NDC’s history is often viewed mainly through the activities of the revolutionary figures who shaped its early years, leaving the contributions of its intellectuals less recognised.
He argued that the party’s intellectual wing played an important role in shaping its direction, even when revolutionary figures were more visible to the public.
“If you are not careful, you are likely to focus more on the revolutionary wing and not pay attention to the intellectual wing that even the revolutionaries were deploying,” he said.
He added that the prominence of figures such as former President Jerry John Rawlings and Captain Kojo Tsikata had helped shape public perceptions of the party’s identity.
“Because the revolutionaries at that point, were the face of the party, the likes of Rawlings and Captain Tsikata,” he noted.
Suhuyini further challenged the NPP to identify personalities from the same period who, in his view, could match the figures he had mentioned.
“Tell me anybody within that age group, those days who could match up to these personalities in the NPP,” he stated.
His comments form part of a broader political debate over the historical contributions of the two major parties and the individuals who helped shape their ideologies and leadership.
While Suhuyini presented the NDC’s intellectual tradition as superior, his remarks reflected his own assessment of the parties’ histories rather than an independently established measure of their intellectual strength.
