Boniface dares NPP to sue over ‘United Party’ name

National Chairman of the newly formed United Party, Abubakar Saddique Boniface, says he is ready to face any legal challenge from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) regarding the use of the name “United Party.”

Speaking on TV3’s Hot Issues on Sunday, October 19, 2025, Mr. Boniface dismissed suggestions that the NPP holds exclusive rights to the name, which historically traces back to the defunct United Party of the late 1950s.

He argued that political names, like personal names, cannot be monopolized.

“In fact, I will be happy if they take it to court so they can tell me that as a Muslim, I can’t name my child Mohammed,” he said. “The fact that I name my child Mohammed doesn’t mean he’s a prophet. Everyone names their child Mohammed, but no one claims ownership of the name.”

He noted that if the NPP insists on sole ownership of the “United Party” identity, then the old Northern People’s Party, one of the founding groups of the UP tradition, could also claim rights to the “NPP” name. “They should just stay in their corner and not create problems for themselves,” Mr. Boniface cautioned.

His comments come amid growing tension between the NPP and Alan Kyerematen’s new political movement.

The NPP leadership has strongly opposed Kyerematen’s choice of the “United Party” name, arguing that it exploits the historical legacy of the UP tradition that evolved into the modern NPP.

In an earlier interview with JoyNews on Friday, October 17, Walewale MP Tia Kabiru accused Mr. Kyerematen of “trying to appropriate the NPP’s political heritage” and warned that the party may pursue legal action to block the name’s use.

Mr. Alan Kyerematen unveiled the United Party on Thursday, October 16, 2025, at the Coconut Grove Hotel in Accra, describing it as “a people’s movement for national unity that transcends partisanship.”

Mr. Kyerematen was long associated with the New Patriotic Party (NPP). He served as Minister for Trade and Industry, and earlier as Ambassador to the USA, and was a founding member of the NPP.

He resigned from the NPP in September 2023 after losing its flagbearer selection process and complaining of what he described as unfair treatment and internal divisions within the party.

After leaving, he founded the Movement for Change (M4C) as his platform to contest Ghanaian elections and promote a “third-force” alternative to the two dominant political parties.