We are losing about 30% of the youth to the NDC – NPP’s Samuel Akonga

A member of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Communication Team, Dr. Samuel Akonga, has raised alarm over the party’s dwindling support among Ghana’s youth, warning that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is gaining ground.

Speaking on Breakfast Today on Dreamz FM, Dr. Akonga revealed that preliminary findings from a yet-to-be-published survey he conducted show the NPP has already lost about 30% of its youthful support base to the NDC. He cautioned that this trend will worsen if immediate corrective steps are not taken.

“We are losing, per what I have — although I haven’t received all the constituency data — we are already losing about 30% of the youth to the NDC,” Dr. Akonga stated.

He explained that the NPP’s historical strength has always been rooted in its appeal to the youth. However, over the past few years, the party’s failure to reflect this in its leadership and appointments has led to growing disillusionment among young supporters.

“Over the years, the support base of the NPP has always been the youth. But if you look at the appointments made under the previous administration, the majority of them were people well outside the youthful age bracket,” he noted.

Dr. Akonga contrasted this with the current NDC government, which he said has strategically filled key roles with younger individuals, making it easier for young people to relate to and support the party.

“If you look at the NDC, from the constituency to the national level, a lot of those holding key positions fall within the youth category. The youth find it easier to relate to people who look like them, think like them, and understand their issues,” he added.

He stressed that youth engagement is not just about outreach, but about representation. “When people within their age group tell them something, they understand, they relate, and they carry it back to their constituencies. That is the power of youth representation.”

Dr. Akonga, who has expressed interest in contesting for leadership within the NPP, vowed to refocus the party’s strategy to regain its lost support among the youth.

“If you are targeting the elderly, you are losing the elections,” he warned. “You target the youth. They know what is happening in the region, in the country, and even globally.”

He concluded by calling on the NPP to learn quickly from its past mistakes and make deliberate efforts to empower younger members of the party. Failure to do so, he said, would only strengthen the NDC’s appeal going into future elections.