Former presidential staffer under the John Mahama administration, PV Jantuah Dadson, has come hard at President Akufo-Addo, accusing him of clandestinely deceiving recruits of the Youth Enterprise Agency (YEA) into thinking that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will not act in their interest.

His comments follow the president’s assurance that his government was considering granting a request by personnel to be drafted into the various security services.

In his address in Kumasi, President Akufo-Addo invited the personnel to join campaigning activities of the New Patriotic Party to ensure that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is elected president in December’s election.

Speaking in an interview with Franklin Osei Gyasi on Bresosem at Abusua FM, PV Dadson insisted that the president sought to instill a “bad mindset” into beneficiaries of the temporary employment body.

Mr. Dadson questioned why President Akufo-Addo would suggest that the NDC would cancel YEA, given their role in establishing the program’s legal framework.

“Mahama hasn’t said anything about cancelling YEA, so why did Akufo-Addo tell the youth that the NDC will cancel YEA?

“We, the NDC, will never cancel YEA. The program was established under former President Kufuor’s regime. When President Kufuor started YEA, it didn’t have an act; it was we in the NDC who enforced the policy with Law (Act 887, 2015),” he contended.

The former presidential staffer accused President Akufo-Addo of creating a “governance deficit” and questioned why he was instilling his political ideologies into young minds.

Dadson expressed concerns about the YEA program, stressing that it incurred significant losses despite substantial investments.

“The amount of money that we’ve invested into YEA from its inception to date, and the kind of deals that have transpired there, what have we gotten from it?” he quizzed.

Dadson advised President Akufo-Addo to remain calm and avoid making unfounded claims as his term nears its end.

“Akufo-Addo should be very careful; he has five months left. He should remain calm and make it easy for himself to go,” he noted.

He suggested that YEA could be improved by introducing self-financing modules to generate revenue and pay beneficiaries, explaining that the approach would enhance the program’s sustainability and effectiveness.