In a fiery address at the launch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) campaign in Tamale, John Dramani Mahama, the party’s flagbearer, slammed the Akufo-Addo government as “useless” due to its inability to address Ghana’s deepening unemployment crisis.

Mahama took aim at Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the vice-presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who had claimed that the Akufo-Addo government’s achievements surpassed those of all previous administrations, including that of Ghana’s founding father, Kwame Nkrumah.

Mahama dismissed Prempeh’s assertion as audacious, pointing to stark statistics: nearly two million Ghanaian youth are idle, with unemployment soaring from 8% in 2016 to 14.7% in 2024.

“This government has led our country into a crisis, and yet they have the audacity to compare themselves to Kwame Nkrumah?” Mahama exclaimed. “The evidence does not support their claims. They are simply useless!”

The NDC flagbearer’s scathing critique sets the stage for a contentious election season, with the opposition party capitalizing on public discontent with the ruling government’s economic record.