…Prepares Secret Dossiers to Dispel Ato Forson‘s surge
A quartet of university lecturers with close ties to Ghana’s opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is preparing to publicly challenge the government’s 2026 budget, in what insiders describe as a strategic effort to bolster the party’s economic credibility ahead of the next election cycle.
The group comprising Prof Isaac Boadi (University of Professional Studies, Accra), Dr Frank Bannor and Dr Kwasi Nyame-Baafi (GIMPA), and Dr George Donfe (University of Ghana) will hold a press conference on 20 November under the banner of the Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP), a think tank widely seen as sympathetic to the NPP’s economic agenda.
The event, titled “The 2026 Budget: Ambitions, Pressure, and Possible Pitfalls,” marks a shift from their previous academic-style lectures to a more overtly political “Meet the Press” format. It is expected to deliver a pointed critique of Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson’s fiscal plan, which the lecturers argue lacks coherence and credibility.
Prof Boadi, who leads the group and serves as IERPP’s Executive Director, has long been a vocal critic of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). He played a key role in drafting the NPP’s 2024 manifesto and has appeared publicly in party-branded campaign gear. In a July 2025 presentation, he lambasted the government’s mid-year budget as “contradictory, misleading, and technically unsound,” accusing officials of quietly revising revenue and expenditure targets while claiming macroeconomic stability.
Boadi has also questioned the sustainability of the Ghanaian cedi’s recent appreciation, suggesting that the currency’s rebound may be driven by artificial market interventions rather than genuine economic reform. “People say prudent management, but they should tell us what that really means,” he told reporters, implying that reduced spending and forex controls—not structural improvements were behind the gains.
While Bannor and Nyame-Baafi maintain lower public profiles, their affiliation with the NPP is widely acknowledged in academic and political circles. Donfe, meanwhile, has drawn attention for his combative style. He was recently involved in a heated on-air exchange with Prof Ransford Gyampo, CEO of the Ghana Shippers Authority, during a televised debate on TV3. Off-air, Donfe was caught on tape verbally assaulting Gyampo, referencing past scandals and threatening physical violence.
The lecturers’ intervention comes as the NPP’s 2024 flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, remains conspicuously silent on economic matters a departure from his earlier reputation as the party’s chief economic spokesperson. With the parliamentary minority struggling to mount a compelling counter-narrative, the IERPP’s press conference is seen as an attempt to fill the vacuum and reframe the opposition’s critique of the government’s fiscal policy.
Whether the initiative will resonate beyond party loyalists remains to be seen. Critics have dismissed the event as partisan theatre, while supporters argue that technocratic voices are essential to restoring public trust in economic governance.