Voting for Nana Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was a mistake by the Ghanaian people, former President John Mahama has said, while speaking to delegates during his visit to Kpone Katamanso on Friday, April 14, 2023.
Mr Mahama said the six years of the Akufo-Addo administration, has exposed the administration’s incompetence.
“In 2016, our colleagues, the NPP, told a lot of lies about us. They labeled us as incompetent and they came with a lot of big and sweet promises to the people of Ghana and used that to persuade people that there will be a better government than we were”, Mr Mahama said.
“And, so, the people of Ghana tried them by voting for them. They said they should try them: ‘Try me and see’.”
“And that was a mistake the people of Ghana made because we have come to realise that after all, ‘we have the men, we have the men’, they were station boys, they don’t know anything,” Mr Mahama said.
Using the power sector to buttress his point, Mr Mahama wondered why the government is signing more power deals when the same administration criticised his administration for signing a lot of such deals.
“Just last week, they signed another power purchase agreement. Why are you signing another one today?” he asked.
Further, he said the government’s factory-per-district promise has been nothing more than a hoax.
“Recently, I was watching a documentary on Joy and most of those factories are not even working,” he added.
Mr Mahama also said the Akufo-Addo government’s human rights record has been appalling.
“The US Human Rights Report has come out and it makes very bad reading: human rights abuses, corruption, torture, so many things, discrimination, everything go and read that report.”
He promised an all-inclusive intervention should his comeback bid be successful.
Mr Mahama said his government will set up a governance advisory council that would include civil society organisations, religious leaders, chiefs, and ordinary grassroots people.
“And, every year, that council will release a report on the state of human rights corruption and everything in Ghana.”
Meanwhile, the former President in a related development has vehemently denied that he attacked Asantes during his recent campaign in the Eastern Region.
It was reported in some media circles that the former President made some disparaging comments about the people in the Ashanti Region.
Mr Mahama is alleged to have advised residents in the Eastern Region not to learn from their counterparts in the Ashanti Region who are emotionally attached to the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and do not think before voting for the elephant-symbol party.
But rubbishing this claim in a statement on April 14, the spokesperson for Mr. Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari asserted, “The said publication, which has been sourced to UTV, an Accra-based television station is false. President Mahama has not made any such statement, either on his campaign rounds or to UTV”.
Madam Bawah Mogtari underscored that the former President is focused on his campaign.
“Mr Mahama remains focused on his ‘Building the Ghana we want Together’ campaign and will not be distracted by such dirty propaganda,” she noted.
Read below the full statement by Madam Joyce Bawah Mogtari
DISCLAIMER
The attention of the John Mahama Campaign has been drawn to a fake quote attributed to the former President purportedly attacking Ashantis.
The said publication, which has been sourced to UTV, an Accra based television station is false.
President Mahama has not made any such statement, either on his campaign rounds or to UTV.
We believe this is yet another disinformation campaign to cause disaffection for Mr John Mahama, and demand a retraction and apology from UTV.
Mr Mahama remains focused on his ‘Building the Ghana we want Together’ campaign and will not be distracted by such dirty propaganda.
Joyce Bawah Mogtari
Spokesperson
April 14, 2023
