Franklin Cudjoe, founding president of policy think tank IMANI Africa, has publicly criticized the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for what he describes as a decline in intellectual caliber, stating that the once vibrant opposition now comprises mostly uninspiring personnel.
The policy analyst made the assessment December 28 in a social media post reflecting on the party’s current state following its resounding defeat in the December 2024 general elections. Cudjoe expressed concern about what he characterized as a bankruptcy of quality human resources within the party’s ranks.
“This is the challenge of the NPP. The once intellectually vibrant party is now mostly made up uninspiring souls, it is not good at all. Hmmm,” Cudjoe wrote on his social media platforms.
The IMANI Africa president suggested the personnel deficit represents a serious challenge for the opposition party and urged leadership to address the issue urgently. His comments add to a series of critiques he has directed at the NPP since its electoral loss to the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Cudjoe previously claimed his organization predicted the NPP’s downfall as early as January 2022, long before the party’s defeat in December 2024. He stated that IMANI had warned the party about the perilous path it was treading but that crucial advice went unheeded.
The policy analyst has been particularly vocal about the former NPP government’s fiscal management. In November 2025, he accused the Akufo Addo led administration of disbursing funds without proper oversight, comparing it unfavorably to the prudence demonstrated by the current NDC administration.
Cudjoe also rejected suggestions by former Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum that the NPP lost voter goodwill due to communication challenges. The IMANI president dismissed this analysis in a terse social media response earlier in the year.
Franklin Cudjoe founded IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, which has been consistently ranked among the top five most influential think tanks in sub Saharan Africa and among the top 100 worldwide. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010 and has consulted with the UK Prime Minister’s office on British aid effectiveness in Africa.
The NPP, which governed Ghana from January 2017 to January 2025 under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, suffered a significant electoral defeat to John Dramani Mahama and the NDC in December 2024. The party is currently in opposition and undergoing internal restructuring following the loss.
Party leadership has not yet responded publicly to Cudjoe’s latest critique about intellectual capacity and personnel quality within its ranks.
