The Volta Regional Youth Wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asked the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) to rescind its decision to confer an honorary doctorate on President Akufo-Addo.

The Youth Wing wants the university’s vice chancellor and council to stop the conferment since, in their view, it is “undeserved” and “unacceptable.”

The statement, which was issued and signed by Mathias Johnson Alagbo, the Volta Regional Youth Organiser, said: “It is infuriating and unacceptable that UHAS would even consider honouring a leader whose policies and actions have profoundly undermined the welfare and development of the Volta region and the nation.”

The statement said the university was established under the Mills-Mahama-led NDC administration, which provided the vision, resources, and initial development of the university.

According to them, claims by UHAS authorities about the current administration securing funding for the China Phase II project are misleading, stating that the groundwork for continuous funding through Chinese grants was laid by President Mills before the university’s first phase of construction.

“We challenge the current administration to demonstrate any significant contributions they have made to UHAS since President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took office,” Alagbo said. The statement also slammed the government for failing to provide financial clearance for employing lecturers and staff at the university and for abandoning university roads started by the NDC.

“This honorary degree proposal is a blatantly partisan move,” Alagbo said, adding that UHAS, as an esteemed academic institution, must remain neutral and avoid political controversies. To the wing, awarding this degree would tarnish UHAS’s reputation and send a dangerous message endorsing the current administration’s “numerous failings and misdeeds,” including economic mismanagement and grand corruption.

“We forcefully urge the Vice Chancellor and the UHAS Council to withdraw this proposed conferment immediately,” Alagbo stated. According to the statement, if the school fails to meet their demand, it will lead to lawful and democratic actions, including massive and sustained demonstrations against the university management.