What started as a routine post-election vehicle return has exploded into a full-blown police case inside the New Patriotic Party’s Upper East ranks.
Regional Organiser Charles Taleog Ndanbon was arrested in a daylight action around the Bolgatanga High Court after flatly refusing to surrender a party-owned CHANGAN HUNTER pick-up assigned to the Nabdam constituency. A heated standoff between the former parliamentary candidate and his party executives dragged on for nearly two years and forced Regional Chairman Lawyer Anthony Namoo to call in the Ghana Police Service.
“Impudent” and “insolent”, that’s how the furious Chairman Namoo described Charles Ndanbon’s conduct in a blistering May 19, 2024 letter that set the stage for the police intervention. After months of ignored memos, failed family interventions, and a Regional Executive Committee probe, the party’s patience finally extinguished.
Ahead of the 2024 General Elections, NPP headquarters allocated one pick-up to each of the 15 constituencies in the Upper East. The vehicles went to parliamentary candidates in Accra, with constituency chairmen as witnesses. The deal was simple: return them to Constituency Executive Committees by December 9, 2024.
Fourteen constituencies in the Upper East Region complied,except Charles Ndanbon because he wouldn’t give up the keys.
The issue dominated Regional Executive Council meetings for months. When Ndanbon finally surfaced at the April 9, 2026 meeting after a long absence, he claimed the pick-up had broken down. He also hinted that, as a regional officer, he was entitled to keep using it despite it being earmarked for his constituency.
A party committee dispatched to his home confirmed the vehicle was faulty with a clutch problem. By May 5, 2026, it was back on the street of Bolgatanga with Mr. Ndanbon cruising in high spirits. When party reps returned to collect it, Ndanbon stood his grounds, refusing to handover the car with a claim that he had received authorization from above to use the vehicle. This claim was however doubted and challenged by the executive committee.
With diplomatic efforts exhausted, Lawyer Anthony Namoo and the REC filed a police report. In his letter to the General Secretary, Namoo slammed Ndanbon for depriving Nabdam of its vehicle for over 20 months, noting the organizer already owns a personal pick-up and “several other vehicles.”
“This is gross misconduct and insubordination,” Namoo wrote. The party, he said, had to act to enforce discipline and protect its resources.
Following the report, police arrested Ndanbon. He was later granted bail after the pick-up was produced at the Upper East Regional Police Command. The CHANGAN HUNTER has since been handed over to the party and returned to the NabdamConstituency Executive Committee.
What began with friendly appeals and closed-door negotiations has ended with arrest, a police docket, and a clear message from the Upper East NPP that the party’s assets aren’t personal perks.
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