Nana: If you’re OK with NDC's 'hardships', keep Mahama

The leader of Ghana’s biggest opposition party, Nana Akufo-Addo, has told the youth of the country to retain the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) in power if they were OK with the current “hardships” and “difficulties” they are being put through by the Mahama administration.

The three-time flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) said the November polls are about the future of the Ghanaian youth, explaining that the electoral choice they make this year will affect their future and that of successive generations of Ghanaians.

He said the youth have a choice to make between the current government, which, according to him, is overseeing “unprecedented” levels of “economic difficulties and hardships”, and the NPP, which, in his view, has demonstrated, from 2001 to 2009, that it has a proven track record of delivering progress and prosperity to the people of Ghana.

“If you, the youth, feel comfortable with the current situation, then vote for the NDC and continuity. However, if you are dissatisfied with your current situation, then vote for change in November. We are living today in hardships and difficulties. This is not the kind of Ghana we want. Ghanaians want change, and I strongly believe that the youth want change,” the former Attorney General said at the inauguration ceremony of the Kobreso NPP Youth Wing in the Offinso North constituency, in the Ashanti region.

He said with nearly 60% of Ghana’s population being 35 years and below, if Ghana becomes a success story, the youth will be the biggest beneficiaries. “Therefore, it is important that the youth view this election as being very critical, and an election whose outcome will determine whether the nation has a bright future. I believe Ghana has a bright future under the right leadership. So, there is hope for the youth,” he said.

“The bad state of Ghana’s economy is because of bad governance, evidenced by the implementation of bad policies over the last seven years. It is bad leadership that has brought about the poverty, economic difficulties and hardships Ghanaians are going through. If the fundamentals of our economy were right, there would have been an abundance of jobs in Ghana. So, there is hope for Ghana. Ghana’s youth have hope. If we can vote for change in November, I assure you that Ghana will be a nation that will be able to provide for the needs of her youth,” Mr Akufo-Addo added.