On Sunday, October 4, George Opare Addo, the National Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, issued a stern warning to the party’s leadership and delegates. He urged the NDC to chart a different political path as it prepares for its own national executive elections, insisting that the party should not respond to the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) new leadership by becoming the NPP.
Opare Addo’s remarks followed the NPP’s election of John Boadu as National Chairman, with Justin Kodua retained as General Secretary, Daniel Titus Glover elected National Organiser, and Abanga Fuseini Yakubu chosen as National Youth Organiser at the party’s National Delegates Conference in Kumasi on October 3, 2026. The conference also saw former Delta Forces member Kwadwo Fosu Boadu, popularly known as Kojo Bamba, elected National First Vice Chairman.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Opare Addo said the NDC must compete with ideas, organisation, policy and intellectual strength, but cautioned against allowing political competition to degenerate into intimidation or violence. He drew a clear distinction between political toughness and political violence, warning that Ghana must never cross that line.
He highlighted the NDC’s 2022 leadership election as a political reset that broadened the party’s appeal, and praised the youth wing’s mobilisation through the Green Army as proof that young people can be organised around purpose and political consciousness. Opare Addo urged delegates to consider what kind of NDC they want to build and what kind of politics Ghana should experience, warning against a return to personality, insults, factionalism and permanent confrontation.
“The answer to aggressive politics cannot be greater aggression. The answer to political intimidation cannot be political intimidation of our own. The answer to violence must be a stronger commitment to democratic mobilisation,” he said. He called for the NDC to remain fierce in competition but responsible in power, arguing that political victory should not be treated as the ultimate objective.
As the NDC moves toward its upcoming leadership contest, Opare Addo’s message serves as a reminder that the party’s direction will be shaped by the choices it makes now, both in leadership and in the style of politics it chooses to pursue.
