The 5.7 million people who President Akufo-Addo says have benefited from the Free SHS should have been represented in the 2024 elections, according to Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, the Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South.

He claims that if his Free SHS had a genuine influence on the lives of the people the President is referring to, they ought to have cast ballots for the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He claims that although the President has given certain figures, the actual situation on the ground is different.

He thinks that even while the strategy may have helped some people, they did not receive the high-quality education they were entitled to. Mr. Vanderpuije claims that because program participants were not provided with study materials or healthy meals, they had no motivation to cast their ballots for the NPP.

The former mayor of Accra said there was nothing good to say about Akufo-Addo's leadership in response to the aftermath of his final State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on Friday, January 3, 2025.

"You're providing the numbers now, but the actual situation is different on the ground. In actuality, many have attended school, but they recall the times they were hungry and lacked study materials, yet they managed to persevere and get through those times. After the speech, he told JB in Parliament, "The truth is that he has served his eight years, but there is nothing to write home about."

In contrast to the NPP, he added, the NDC will be a listening administration that takes constructive criticism from the opposition to improve its governance for the people.

"The NDC is aware of the consequences of taking Ghanaians for granted and will not do anything untoward to incur their wrath at the polls," Mr. Vanderpuije said.

We'll perform better because NDC is aware that if we don't, we'll suffer at the polling place. We will listen and improve if our stance offers something beneficial so that we don't have to endure what they did.