NPP Playbook Against Critics: The Story of Charlotte Osei

• Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) 2nd Vice Chair, Sammy Crabbe, says the party removed former Electoral Commission Chairperson Charlotte Osei using a single NPP playbook against critics. He claims the party also used this method against himself, Paul Afoko, and Kwabena Agyapong. The NPP indefinitely suspended Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Agyapong in December 2015. This action followed the indefinite suspension of National Chairman Paul Afoko in October 2015. The party accused the executives of violating its constitution and publicly undermining party decisions. The party specifically cited Sammy Crabbe for publicly disagreeing with Mr. Afoko’s suspension. He also failed to appear before the party’s Disciplinary Committee.

Meanwhile, a committee established by the Chief Justice removed Charlotte Osei as the Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson on June 28, 2018. Then-President Nana Akufo-Addo based her removal on the committee’s recommendations. The committee investigated various allegations of misconduct and incompetence. A petition from some concerned EC staff members first initiated the removal process in July 2017.

Sammy Crabbe recently explained his reasoning during an interview on TV3’s “Hot Issues” on Sunday, September 7, 2025. The former official stated that the NPP went after the former EC chair using the same “playbook.” He detailed how the process would begin with a petition from persons close to the victim. The party, he insisted, orchestrated the petitions. He said members of the party would later claim no knowledge about the petition. They would insist that they were following due processes. According to Sammy Crabbe, all of this is only a “facade.” He insists that the NPP had a clear intention from the beginning. They wanted to “bust security of tenures.” The former EC chair had a security of tenure, just like the suspended executives from 2015.

Mr. Crabbe further elaborated. “The same method they used to remove Afoko, Kwabena Agyepong, myself and those other officers of the party was the same playbook they used to remove Charlotte Osei,” he stated. He added that party members caused some people to write a petition. Officials would then deny knowledge of the petition. They would then say they used the proper process. Crabbe called this a “facade,” insisting it was the same situation. He said the party played this out internally and succeeded with help from some in the media. This NPP playbook against critics remains a key point in his argument.

Sammy Crabbe himself failed to appear before the NPP’s Disciplinary Committee at the time of his hearing. His reasons for this decision were very clear. The former vice chair told Keminni Amanor that the committee had no authority to sit on his matter. He described the body as an “inferior” and “wrong forum.” He stressed that the constitution did not give an unelected committee the power to suspend or remove him. Crabbe said the petition against him demanded his removal, which was the wrong forum for that action.

Source: TV3 (Original: Media General)