A private legal practitioner and current New Patriotic Party (NPP) North East Regional Secretary, Lawyer Sulley Sambian, has assured that, under his watch, the party’s image will be redeemed and it will continue to make giant strides.

Sulley Sambian, who threw his hat into the ring for the Regional Chairmanship position months ago, set up a direct contest with the sitting chairman as delegates gather at this weekend’s regional conference to decide the race.

Speaking to journalists about his bid, Lawyer Sambian pitched his candidacy as a fusion of legal discipline and years of grassroots party work, arguing that the region, the home turf of NPP flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, cannot afford to leave its 2028 electoral fortunes to chance.

According to him,”I am tried, tested, and ready to lead the NPP in the region as Chairman. I am offering my expertise following years of service to ensure that the region becomes a no-go area for our opponents,” he said, adding, “I have the strategy and the mental ability to deliver.”

Lawyer Sambian’s bid revives a contest last decided at the Nalerigu Regional Conference on May 27, 2022, when incumbent Chairman Nurudeen fended off a crowded field to retain his post, polling 71 of 146 valid votes.

His nearest rival on that occasion, former Yagaba Kubore Constituency Chairman Akamara Bawah Henry, managed 50 votes a 21-vote gap that left the race closer than some party insiders had anticipated.

That history looms over this weekend’s vote. With Nurudeen expected to seek another term, Sambian’s entry signals that the NPP’s internal race in the North East may once again be tightly fought, testing whether the party’s grassroots structures still back the incumbent or are ready for a change in direction.

Rather than campaign on personality, Sambian is staking his candidacy on what he frames as a results-driven approach to party organisation.

He argued that the 2028 election will reward disciplined strategy over rhetoric, telling reporters that success will come down to “who can combine brawn and brainpower to reclaim and increase the parliamentary seats in the area.”

The remark points to a broader concern within NPP ranks in the North East, where the party has had to contest strongly against an entrenched NDC presence.

For Sambian, tightening the party’s organisational machinery rather than relying on campaign messaging alone is the route back to expanding the NPP’s seat count in the region.

As Regional Secretary, Sambian has held a front-row seat to the party’s internal operations, a position he is now relying on as evidence of readiness rather than treating it as a stepping stone he must abandon.

With delegates set to vote this weekend, his candidacy places added weight on the conference, not just as a leadership contest but as an early signal of how united or divided the NPP’s regional structures are heading into a flagbearer’s home-region campaign for 2028.

By: Jacob Aggrey