November, 2023

The public utterances of the outgoing President, Akufo-Addo clearly confirm my assertion that his nightmare is to hand over power to the determined and reinvigorated former President Mahama when Ghanaian voters re-elect him as President on December 7, 2024.

President Akufo-Addo’s anointed and preferred NPP Presidential Candidate to replace him, Dr. Bawumia has been confirmed by the NPP Delegates on November 4, 2023. However, Dr. Bawumia will now lock horns with former President Mahama for the ultimate Presidency slot in the next General elections.

Before I come to what President Akufo-Addo said on the victory day speech to outdoor Dr. Bawumia as the Flagbearer of the NPP, he made a very profound pronouncement a year ago which confirmed that President Mahama is his nightmare.
In order not to dilute Akufo Addo’s submission, let me quote and unquote him. He mockingly said in an interview on Ho-based Stone City FM and reported by Ghanaweb that “Mr. Mahama still has not been able to assimilate his defeat twice to me and l think every night when he goes to bed, he is confused about the man who has not just come back but given him a good whipping on two separate occasions” (read www.ghanaweb.com, 15 September 2022).

The above quotation of the President was not humorous enough in my opinion as elections are determined by various obvious and confounding factors and not all about ‘whipping’ another Candidate to prove a point. Despite his victory in 2020, President Akufo-Addo might have forgotten that Ghanaians were not happy with his seemingly kleptocratic style of governance in his first term, which reduced the NPP Majority in Parliament in his second term from 169 Members of Parliament (MPs) to 137 MPs now to produce the first-ever hung Parliament in Ghana.

Additionally, the most recent public utterance of President Akufo-Addo was the victory day of his anointed and favoured Presidential Candidate of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. He said that “I have one more task to do, and that is all my strength all my energy to help Bawumia win the elections of 2024. Ghana cannot afford the return of NDC especially under the leadership of John Mahama.” (published by www.3News.com, November 4, 2023).

From the two instances cited above, it clearly elucidates the uncalm and nightmarish disposition of the outgoing President Akufo-Addo when it comes to the second coming of former President Mahama who was defeated twice after he left office in 2016. With the gargantuan track record of disappointing achievements in various sectors of the economy coupled with failed corruption and galamsey fights under President Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia, this governing NPP government is bound to be rejected by the decerning Ghanaian voters in 2024. This regime has also taken Ghanaians for granted for the past 7 years and the NPP Party should be heavily punished for that.

The overwhelmingly endorsed former President Mahama by the NDC Delegates as the Flagbearer going into 2024 is evidential proof of his return to the Presidency to finish his visionary agenda for Ghana. Believing my gut feeling, if the NDC Party had presented a different Presidential Candidate for 2024 and there is the possibility for that Candidate to win, President Akufo-Addo would not be bothered so much because of his public utterance about former President Mahama. Afterall, he got his two terms in office.

Considering Akufo-Addo, Dr. Bawumia and the NPP’s shenanigans with respect to the performance of the Mahama-led regime and having succeeded twice in convincing Ghanaians with their too good promises before, President Akudo-Addo is having sleepless nights of handing over power to the same person he so criticised and mocked for ‘whipping’ him twice.

I find it very instructive and intriguing at the time that President Akudo-Addo assured Dr. Bawumia and NPP Delegates that he would do all he could to ensure Bawumia wins. It will be the track record of former President Mahama and that of yours including the contribution of Dr. Bawumia that will speak loudly on the day of elections.

Mr. President, it is Ghanaians who will assess your performance in government including Dr. Bawumia, your anointed and favoured Candidate for the past eight years and decide which political Party and leader should replace you in 2024.
I think what is in your powers (energy and strength) is to prove to Ghanaians that you can make their living conditions now better than you and the NPP came to meet under former President Mahama and the NDC. I am, however, afraid that it is too late for you and the NPP to reset the clock to do better in just a year left to go.

As former President Mahama is still constitutionally qualified to be in the Presidential race, unlike you now, he has a very high probability of winning the Presidency next year if majority of Ghanaians approve of his second coming.
Mr. President, your demonstration of approval for Dr. Bawumia is understandable as many will consider that you may want him to cover up perceived rots of your government which is plagued with a myriad of ongoing or unresolved scandals associated with your unenviable accolades such as ‘Clearing Agent’ and ‘Mother Serpent of Corruption’.

To state the obvious, it is up to the Ghanaian Voters to vote and choose who they want to lead them but not through any Presidential powers to replace or retain a Candidate or political Party in our 30-year-old democratic dispensation.

Ghanaians, let us all assess our current living conditions under this Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led government and vote wisely next year to redirect and rebuild the country we all want together.

Views expressed by Dr. J.-B. Naah. This article was also published on www.modernghana.com and www.ghanweb.com