A leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Henry Osei Akoto, has criticised the party’s National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, over what he described as disappointing remarks regarding employment opportunities for young people.
Mr. Osei Akoto, a former National Organiser aspirant of the NDC, said he was unhappy with comments made by Mr. Asiedu Nketiah while addressing grassroots members on recent recruitment exercises into the country’s security services.
During the interaction, Mr. Asiedu Nketiah indicated that recruitment into the security services had become extremely competitive due to the large number of applicants and the limited capacity of government to employ them.
According to him, about 500,000 young people are seeking to join the security services, particularly the police, even though government can only recruit about 5,000 because of financial and logistical constraints.
In what he described as a light-hearted comment, Mr. Asiedu Nketiah said if all the applicants were recruited into the police service, there would be no criminals left for officers to arrest.
“About 500,000 people want to join the police. If we employ all of them, where would they find thieves to arrest since everyone would be in the police service?” he remarked.
However, reacting to the comment in an interview with GhanaWeb, Mr. Osei Akoto expressed disappointment, stressing that the remarks were inappropriate considering the expectations of many party supporters who are currently seeking employment.
He noted that many of the young people applying for the jobs were grassroots supporters who worked tirelessly for the party during the 2024 general elections.
“After watching that video of Chairman Asiedu Nketiah speaking to the people gathered there, I must say I was very disappointed,” Mr. Osei Akoto said.
“These are the same people we campaigned with ahead of the 2024 elections. They struggled and worked hard for the party, and many even spent their own money. Today they are simply asking that they be given some kind of job from the government.”
Mr. Osei Akoto stressed that the grassroots remained the backbone of the party and deserved to be addressed with respect and tact, particularly on sensitive issues such as employment.
He warned that if the NDC chairman continued to handle such matters in the same manner, it could undermine any future political ambitions he might have.
“If this is how he intends to handle matters, then he should forget about his presidential ambitions because these are the same people who will eventually vote for him,” he said.
Mr. Osei Akoto further described the growing pressure on party officials from unemployed supporters, revealing that many leaders receive dozens of calls daily from individuals seeking job opportunities.
“Every day some of us receive no fewer than 50 or 60 phone calls from people asking about jobs. Many party supporters are still at home and don’t know what to do,” he noted.
He added that while party officials continue to submit names of applicants for consideration, the final decisions on recruitment rest with government.
Mr. Osei Akoto therefore urged Mr. Asiedu Nketiah to apologise to party supporters for the remarks in order to calm tensions.
“I believe he needs to come out and apologise to the people. After that we can move forward,” he said.
