The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has asserted that he has made significant sacrifices for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and should be granted the opportunity to lead the party in the 2024 elections.
During the 2012 general election petition, Dr. Bawumia emphasized that he willingly stepped forward as a witness for the NPP while his contenders made excuses.
Addressing delegates in the Suame constituency as part of his campaign in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Bawumia highlights his numerous sacrifices for the party throughout the years, including putting his political career on the line during his role as a witness for the NPP.
“Most of our members were giving excuses when the party was in need of a witness for the 2012 general election petition at the Supreme Court. I sacrificed my political career for the party, knowing very well the implications ahead if I don’t deliver well in court.”
“The excuses were many, some claimed they were travelling and all that because they were scared to put their political career on the line, but I stood my ground, I’m the best person to lead the party,” Dr. Bawumia added.
Dr. Bawumia is among the ten candidates who have undergone vetting and are vying for the position of flagbearer in the upcoming 2024 elections.
The other candidates include Alan Kyerematen, a former Trade Minister; Joe Ghartey, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice; Dr. Owusu Akoto Afriyie, a former Minister of Food and Agric; Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, a former General Secretary of NPP; Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, MP for Assin Central; Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, a former MP for Offinso North; Boakye Agyarko, a former Energy Minister; Kojo Opoku; and Francis Addai-Nimoh, a former MP for Mampong constituency.
Residents of Larteh Akuapem in the Akuapem North Municipality have threatened to boycott the 2024 general elections if government fails to address the deplorable state of roads in the area.
They hold the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area and previous governments responsible for their inability to fix the roads, leading to a standstill in economic activities.
Frustrated residents and drivers in Larteh have expressed their grievances, highlighting the urgent need for proper road infrastructure.
The roads are riddled with gullies and large potholes, causing damage to vehicles.
“I don’t think it is a road that you can be happy about as a municipality or even as a place like Larteh. Larteh is a well-known place but the road that leads to the place is terrible, and it is hindering tourists and other people from coming to see how beautiful the town is.”
It was for that reason he said the roads must be fixed as a matter of urgency to improve development in the town.
Another resident, Patrick Kwaku Mantey said that “I am very worried, it has been very problematic for the past 10 years. If you look at the road there are patches, but immediately it rains everything gets spoilt again.”
“We have constantly spoken about the roads and there has even been a situation where chiefs and community members holding the MP to a ransom but to no avail.”
He made a heartfelt plea to the government, urging them to allocate funds to the contractor to initiate road construction. He emphasized that if this is not done, the residents of Larteh will refuse to participate in the 2024 elections.
Furthermore, during the inauguration of the Larteh Fire Station, the Chief of Larteh addressed the Minister of Interior and other high-ranking service commanders, appealing to the government to prioritize the construction of the Mamfe to Ayikuma road.
Responding to the chief’s request the Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong gave an assurance that a contractor will come to the road by the end of this year as the coordinating council is still lobbying at the Ministry of Highways.
“We have been working with the Ghana Highway Authority to assess it for us. So we got the Ghana Highway regional director to come over and assess it and so far we are at the ministry getting pushing to get the contractor to take it over.
“So I believe that by the end of the year, we should have a contractor come on the road,” he stated.
Presidential aspirant Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has announced that when voted into power, national executives of the party will receive salaries and social security benefits.
He made this announcement at the beginning of his tour of the Greater Accra Region.
In an innovative approach to internal party elections, Alan engaged with delegates from three constituencies in an open mini durbar at the Suu Astro Turf in the Ablekuma Central constituency. Delegates from Ablekuma South and North also attended the durbar. This move addresses the concern of NPP executives, members, and supporters who have felt neglected by the party and its structures while in power.
Alan Kyerematen believes it is time for the hardworking party members to reap the benefits of their dedication, which has contributed to the NPP’s success in national elections. As a result, he has pledged to provide salaries and social security for party executives.
This approach reflects Alan’s determination to run the party as a disciplined corporate entity, ensuring that members are rewarded for their efforts instead of treating party positions as thankless sacrifices.
Furthermore, the concept of a peoples’ assembly showcased the participatory governance that Ghanaians can expect under an Alan Kyerematen administration.
During the first leg of his Greater Accra tour, Alan was accompanied by party stalwarts such as former Attorney General Ayikoi Otoo, Minister of Railway and Rail Transport Peter Amewu, NPP chairpersons from the three Ablekuma constituencies, and Hopeson Adorye, among others.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has closed nominations for its flagbearership race.
The nominations was closed on Saturday, June 24, 2023.
Mr Joe Ghartey, a former Minister for Railways and Member of Parliament (MP) for Essikado-Ketan, was the last to submit his presidential nomination form on Saturday.
Mr Ghartey was given a rousing welcome by his supporters when he arrived at the NPP headquarters at Asylum Down to submit the form.
The five-time lawmaker, speaking to the media after filing his nomination, said he was ready to make a significant impact on the political landscape.
He promised to transform the country, and improve the living standards of all Ghanaians when elected NPP Flagbearer and eventually, President of Ghana.
The NPP opened nomination for its presidential primary on May 26, 2023.
The Party has slated August 26 for its Special Elections and November 4, for the National Conference to elect a flagbearer for the 2024 general election.
Those who have filed nominations are: Mr Kennedy Agyapong, Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, a former General Secretary of the NPP, Mr Kwadwo Poku, an Energy Expert, Mr Alan Kyerematen, a former Trade and Industry Minister, and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
The rest are: Mr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, a former Food and Agriculture Minister, Mr Boakye Agyarko, a former Energy Minister, Mr Edward Addai-Nimo, a former MP for Asante Mampong, and Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, an Economist.
A flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kennedy Agyapong, has said that one of the easiest things he will do is to sack people who do anything that goes against the country, no matter how close they are to him in power.
He explained that, in the instance he becomes the president of Ghana, even if his chief of staff misbehaves, he would not hesitate to have him sacked.
Speaking at the NPP Headquarters in Accra after he had filed his nomination forms, the flagbearer hopeful, who is also the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, stressed that it is the only way to imbibe discipline in the populace.
“I believe in accountability, I’m sorry. If God gives me the nod, he’ll be a chief of staff, but one strike, he’s out. Ghana first, he comes second. If he does anything against this country, I’ll fire him. That is the only way we can move this country.
“So, can you imagine if I’ve fired my chief of staff, the rest will sit up because even the chief of staff fired, then what about me the director, what about me the manager? It trickles down, and we’ll become disciplined. Discipline is key to the success of this country,” he said.
Kennedy Agyapong is among a number leading New Patriotic Party (NPP) members who have so far submitted their forms to lead the party as its presidential candidate for the 2024 general elections.
A flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Boakye Agyarko, has called upon the party to take appropriate measures against candidates in the flagbearership race who are disregarding the election rules.
Mr Agyarko emphasized the importance of upholding the rules and regulations for a fair and transparent electoral process.
Speaking on the matter, Mr Agyarko stated, “It is important that all [candidates] uphold the rules and regulations, without sounding like a fly in the jar, there have been many provocations, there has been many breaking the rules for which no sanctions have been applied. I have even raised the matter at the national council.
“So long as the rules are clear, so long as there is total fairness, so long as we are all tempered or measured, I believe that we would have a very peaceful contest. But please do not hold yourself aloof from the entire process.”
Responding to Agyarko’s plea, Evans Nimako, the Director of Elections of the NPP, urged him to report any instances of election rule violations by the aspirants to the appropriate committees.
Nimako assured Agyarko that the party would address the concerns once they are brought to their attention.
Flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto has filed his nomination forms at the party’s headquarters in Asylum Down, Accra today, Monday June 19, 2023.
He was accompanied by some stalwarts of the party, including former national and regional officers of the party, former Members of Parliament, constituency executives, Electoral Area Coordinators and Polling Station Executives.
Dr. Akoto is set to address the media and thousands of party followers where he will throw more light on his vision for the party and the country in general.
The nomination forms were picked on behalf of the former Minister for Food and Agriculture by a group of farmers and friends on May 29, 2023, in support of his presidential ambition.
By filing the nonination forms on Monday, the two-time Member of Parliament for Kwadaso, will be the third aspiring candidate to file his nomination forms after former Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
Both Alan and Bawumia submitted their forms last Monday, June 12, 2023, and Friday, June 16, 2023, respectively.
The NPP opened nominations on May 26, 2023, with aspirants given up to June 24 to submit forms.
So far, 10 presidential hopefuls have picked up nomination forms to contest the NPP’s flagbearer slot.
They include: Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, a former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Kennedy Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, the immediate past Minister of Trade and Industry, Kwabena Adjei Agyapong, a former General-Secretary of the Party, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana, and Joe Ghartey, the Member of Parliament for Essikadu-Ketan and former Minister of Railway Development.
The rest are Boakye Agyarko, former Minister of Energy, Prof. Addai Nimoh, former MP for Mampong, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, a former Minister of Trade and Industry, and Kwadwo Nsafoa Opoku, an expert in energy and related matters.
A Special Delegates Congress will be held on August 26, 2023, to select five of the presidential aspirants.
The top five aspirants will then contest for the flagbearer slot on December 4, 2023, to elect one to lead the party in the 2024 general elections.
Residents of five communities in theNkwanta South Municipality of the Oti Region have voiced their intention to boycott any upcoming elections in the area should the road connecting Nkwanta to these communities is not repaired.
The communities are Keri, Odomi, Gekrong, Pawa and Kue.Some drivers and motor riders who ply the road told the Ghana News Agency that they had decided to park their vehicles to prevent wasting money unnecessarily on maintenance and servicing.
The Assembly member for the Keri South Electoral area, Mr Jonas Gbedenyo said he had written to the authorities about the poor road network, but nothing was done about it.He said farmers in the five communities were unable to bring their farm produce to the Municipal capital for sale.
“Last year somewhere in September, the bridge connectingKeriand Gekrong was damaged to the extent that all the visitors who came home to mark the annual yam festival in Keri could not return to their destinations on schedule.
“The people, however, took it upon themselves to fill that portion with stones and some gravel to make it possible for motorbikes to carry the visitors back to their destinations.
“This year due to the start of the rains, the road is moving from bad to worse,” he said.Mr Gbedenyo stated that if nothing was done about the road in the next one month, no car or motorcycle would be able to use the road and that could be disastrous for the inhabitants of these communities.
Former President, John Dramani Mahama has been sued by a Ghanaian citizen over his bid to vie for a second presidential term on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In the suit filed by the Plaintiff; Kenneth Kwabena Agyei Kuranchie, he wants the Supreme Court to disqualify the former president from contesting as a flagbearer of a political party or the presidency in the future.
According to him, the constitution through Article 66 (1) of the 1992 Constitution indicates that a person seeking a second presidential term must be a sitting president and in the case of former President Mahama, he is only seeking to recontest after being out of office for about 8 years.
He also noted that per the provision in the constitution, a former president seeking re-election must seek parliamentary approval before going on with his ambitions.
The Plaintiff in the suit also indicated a number of things he wants as reliefs: He wants the court to order the former president to fully disclose to parliament, the terms of his engagement as a flagbearer of the NDC.
Mr. Agyei Kuranchie is also seeking that the Supreme Court directs the Speaker of Parliament to invoke and operationationalise Article 68 (2) of the 1992 Constitution which indicates that
[The President shall not, on leaving office as President, hold any office of profit or emolument, except with the permission of Parliament, in any establishment, either directly or indirectly, other than that of the State].
The Plaintiff is also seeking for the court to order Former President, John Agyekum Kufuor and Former President John Dramani Mahama to make available to parliament, all engagaments not to do with the matters of the State of Ghana.
He also wants the court to order Mr. mahama to seek parliamentary approval for his engagement as a Flagbearer of the NDC or in the alternative, desist from his presidential ambitions.
Meanwhile, Article 66 (1) of the 1992 Constitution says;
(1) A person elected as President shall, subject to clause (3) of this article, hold office for a term of four years beginning from the date on which he is sworn in as President.
Article 68 (2) of the 1992 Constitution says;
(2) The President shall not, on leaving office as President, hold any office of profit or emolument, except with the permission of Parliament, in any establishment, either directly or indirectly, other than that of the State.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has refuted claims that the opposition NDC and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) are similar.
In Mr Mahama’s view, the NDC cannot be reckless, contemptuous and wasteful as the NPP.
“We have been in power, and our record is there for all to see. We do not claim perfection, but we in the NDC can never be like the NPP. We simply cannot be and are not as reckless and contemptuous of the people of Ghana as the NPP has been. We have never been and will not be as wasteful, ostentatious, and as imprudent as the NPP has been.”
Speaking in an address at the NDC’s European Chapters Conference in Amsterdam, Holland over the weekend, Mr Mahama said the NDC has no intention of taking the mandate of Ghanaians for granted if the party wins the 2024 election.
“We have no intention of taking the mandate of the people of Ghana for granted. We know we are going against an incumbent government that has proven that it is prepared to shed the blood of its citizens to hang on to power, as they amply showed at the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election and the 2020 elections. And then there is an Electoral Commission whose neutrality in this electoral contest is questionable.
“Our work is therefore cut out for us. We must get off our marks immediately and convince Ghanaians that we are prepared to govern in addition to our superior record to that of the NPP.”
Below are details of the speech by Mr Mahama
General Secretary Fifi Kwetey,
Director of International Relations Alex Segbefia,
Chairpersons of our various NDC EU Chapters, Comrades,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon.
Let me first thank you all, both theChapterand Branch executives and members from our various EU countries, for making the sacrifice and time to gather here in Amsterdam for three days to discuss the future of our party, the NDC, and how we can contribute towards an emphatic victory in December 2024.
You have rescheduled this conference twice because of other competing events, including the just-ended May 13 Presidential Primaries. I appreciate your patience with me, especially because of your determination that I must be personally present with you.
We were close to rescheduling this session once more because of the impending Assin North by-election. But it is good we decided to come and push ahead with this event, as this is also a significant gathering for strategising towards victory in the polls of 2024.
Comrades, I bring you greetings from your compatriots in Ghana, whom I had the privilege, yet again, to visit and interact with across all 276 constituencies during the primaries.
That exercise has contributed to re-invigorating our executives and members at the grassroots. It allowed us to take our message to them and the people in their constituencies, reminding them that the National Democratic Congress remains the political party to trust when it comes to the total development and welfare of the citizens of Ghana.
It is, therefore, our duty to rededicate ourselves to work with absolute commitment in our branches to secure the maximum votes to guarantee an emphatic victory in 2024. I want to repeat that we must go to the polls on December 07, 2024, with our referee. That referee will be our DILIGENCE, PREPAREDNESS and WINNING the election EMPHATICALLY.
Our 2020 election comeback, raising the number of our seats from 106 to 137 and increasing our votes by almost 1.4 million, resulted from the dedication and hard work of all of us and the support of the people of Ghana.
Ghanaians have seen the difference and believe in our message, which in 2020 was conveyed in our People’s Manifesto.
Comrades, we did not become the majority party in Parliament. We were also not declared winners of the 2020 presidential elections because we left some loose ends untied in a bizarre election amidst the COVID restrictions and the economic meltdown. That is why in 2024, our win must be emphatic.
As leader and flagbearer, I offer my firm PLEDGE and assurance. I will work with the party’s leadership, represented here by the General Secretary, to build a formidable team and deploy strategies and mechanisms to ensure that we protect the votes of the teeming mass of Ghanaians. These Ghanaians are yearning to be freed from the shackles of poverty and hardship inflicted by the reckless Akufo Addo and Bawumia administrations. Most Ghanaians are ready to work with us to build the Ghana we all want together.
When I spoke at the commemoration of the 44th anniversary of the June 4th uprising in Hohoe on Sunday, I likened the 2024 elections to a peaceful and democratic revolution which will free our country and our people from the clutches of misrule from a mediocre, reckless, and incompetent government.
What we are gathered here to do is a declaration of intent by those of you in the diaspora to join the broad mass of Ghanaians in the collective push to dislodge this clueless administration through a peaceful, free, and fair election in 2024. This is an absolute national imperative, and we cannot and must not fail the people of Ghana.
It has been seven years of corruption, waste, arrogance, nepotism, abuse of office, human rights violations, and economic mismanagement. Seven years of reckless mismanagement of the economy has rendered our people broken and struggling to survive from one day to the next.
The Ghanaian economy is now classified among the worst managed in the world. We are currently in the same basket as the likes of Sri Lanka.
Ghana, our beloved country? Nkrumah’s Ghana?
Inflation is at record highs – impacting the prices of essential goods and services and escalating an already severe cost of living crisis. Our currency, the Ghana Cedi, has suffered one of its steepest declines in decades. This has earned the Cedi the depressing accolade, at one point, as the worst-performing currency in the world.
Businesses are stressed and being pushed to the brink, with quite a number left with no choice but to fold up or relocate to neighbouring countries. The Bank of Ghana has exacerbated the problem. It has blatantly breached its financial threshold, printing over 40 billion Ghana cedis to finance the government’s budget deficit.
In the last two years, we have suffered downgrade after downgrade to junk status by all the international credit rating agencies, and we have finally defaulted on our domestic and external debt repayment. The unilateral, insensitive debt restructuring programme has seen over GHS 80 billion lent by millions of Ghanaians to the government by purchasing bonds expropriated.
This has caused severe dislocation in the livelihoods of many pensioners and middle-class Ghanaian families. It has led to a depressing sight of aged pensioners picketing at the Ministry of Finance to demand their money. Local businesses, especially contractors and other government service providers are owed tens of billions of Ghana cedis, whose value continues to dwindle following the government’s inability or unwillingness to pay.
Government can also not meet all statutory payments, and many of the earmarked funds are in arrears. Even the most fundamental obligations, such as providing textbooks to primary schools or ensuring proper and consistent feeding of basic and senior high school students, have become daunting. The net effect of all these harrowing developments has been that Ghanaians are enduring economic suffering on an unprecedented scale.
I am certain that you are all too familiar with the precise narrative I have just rendered for those of you in the diaspora on whom millions of your relatives and compatriots back home depend for sustenance through remittances. All this would have been entirely avoidable if this government had heeded sound counsel from us in the opposition and other notable voices in civil society and academia and acted timeously.
The deliberate concealment of the actual situation through creative accounting and under-declaration of figures has combined with excessive and wasteful expenditure to hasten the inevitable catastrophe we are witnessing today.
Ultimately, too little was done too late, as our economy had so deteriorated that an IMF programme could only be secured by accepting the harshest conditionalities. To obtain an IMF programme, Ghanaians have paid a disproportionate price. Domestic bondholders have been given severe and painful haircuts and will be deprived of substantial interest due to them in 2023.
The consequences of these haircuts are grave for the financial sector. The financial health of Ghanaian banks has eroded and will undermine the financial sector’s performance with attendant job losses.
Insurance companies and pension funds invested in government bonds will also suffer, just as individuals who depend on pension payments for survival will suffer.
In addition to this already hostile economic environment, multiple taxes have been slapped on Ghanaians in the last two years alone. Over 23 other tax measures will make life even more unbearable for our people. Steep increases in the cost of utilities are increasing the burden on businesses and individuals.
Import duties and excise duties have shot through the roof. No wonder the Tema and Takoradi Ports have lost volumes while the Togo and Benin ports continue to be busy and receiving goods that should have come through our ports.
Ladies and gentlemen, one of the burning topics for discussion in Ghana today is the rate at which we are losing our (health) professionals, trained at great expense, to other countries.
I sympathise with the Ghanaian youth! Their feeling of despair and hopelessness is unprecedented in our history. They are now looking for the slightest opportunity to leave our shores in search of greener pastures.
The question we should ask ourselves is, how will we bring back HOPE in the Ghanaians in the face of their daily challenges? As the most viable alternative, we in the NDC have demonstrated the capacity to rise to the occasion by our record in government. In the past, we have reset our country’s trajectory and returned it to an appreciable state of health. We have a duty to our country to lead the charge for change again and bring relief to the long-suffering people of Ghana.
Comrades, it would be presumptuous to think that this will come quickly or that the abysmal depths to which the NPP has sunk governance guarantees us automatic victory at the polls. We must first earn the trust of the Ghanaian people.
A significant section of voters has grown sceptical and are weary of our democracy and its benefits because of unmet expectations and the spectacular failure of this government.
I urge you all to remember, through our actions and the policy platforms to canvass, demonstrate the difference between our service in government and the nightmarish example the NPP has set.
We have been in power, and our record is there for all to see. We do not claim perfection, but we in the NDC can never be like the NPP. We simply cannot be and are not as reckless and contemptuous of the people of Ghana as the NPP has been. We have never been and will not be as wasteful, ostentatious, and as imprudent as the NPP has been.
We have committed to operating a lean government that avoids the NPP’s extravagance and gets the job done more efficiently. Nothing in our historical record compares to the level of economic mismanagement that the NPP has superintended.
The NDC believes in substantive offerings, carefully considered, and curated to stand the test of time while comprehensively resolving some of our most complex problems.
We have no intention of taking the mandate of the people of Ghana for granted. We know we are going against an incumbent government that has proven that it is prepared to shed the blood of its citizens to hang on to power, as they amply showed at the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election and the 2020 elections. And then there is an Electoral Commission whose neutrality in this electoral contest is questionable.
Our work is therefore cut out for us. We must get off our marks immediately and convince Ghanaians that we are prepared to govern in addition to our superior record to that of the NPP.
The first step towards doing that is proving that we can manage our internal affairs, which is why this European Conference is significant. It offers a platform for sharing unique insights into better organisational strategies and innovative approaches to mobilising the people of Ghana for a resounding victory in 2024.
The NDC profoundly values your contributions towards the running of the party and the brilliant perspectives you bring to the table on essential governance matters. The party also acknowledges your concerns about participation in elections and governance.
Of particular concern to you have been the constitutional impediments to persons holding dual citizenship and their occupation of some government positions in Ghana. Only a few weeks ago, we suffered what we consider grave injustice when our Member of Parliament for Assin North was thrown out of Parliament by the Supreme Court on grounds we find entirely unsatisfactory.
I have previously indicated that one of the things I will do when elected President in 2024 would be to fast-track the clarification of the constitutional provision on allegiance that bars our dual citizens from holding some offices in Ghana. I call on Parliament to do the needful so that Ghana can benefit fully from the expertise that our citizens have garnered during their sojourn abroad.
Another matter which I know concerns you and on which I would like to offer some clarity concerning the NDC’s position is ROPAA. We in the NDC have not been opposed to ROPAA in principle. We have kicked against the potential for selective and inequitable implementation that lends itself to exploitation by the incumbent party and to the unfair detriment of opposition parties.
We have said that if ROPAA is ever to be implemented, it should be implemented for every Ghanaian living everywhere. As far as we are concerned, a Ghanaian living in Europe should not have a greater right to vote than one living in Asia or Africa.
We in the NDC will not countenance an attempt or conspiracy between the NPP and the Electoral Commission to implement a lopsided ROPAA favouring the NPP. When we see that a level playing field will be created for all Ghanaians anywhere on earth to have the right to vote, we will be more than willing to support such a move.
We continue to value your contributions to the development of Ghana even as life’s vicissitudes have ensured that you reside in far and distant lands to either ply your trade and earn a living or pursue some form of personal development.
I am confident that the deliberations, which started yesterday, will ultimately inure to the benefit of the NDC and provide further impetus to our preparations to salvage the fortunes of our country, which are presently in great peril. We back at home are doing our bit as well and strengthening the cooperation between the national and external branches of the party.
Comrades, our meeting today, June 10, coincides with the 33rd anniversary of the formation of our great party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Congratulations to the founding fathers and mothers of our party and to us all who continue to build and hold the party aloft across the almost 40,000 branches.
We acknowledge all our lost comrades in the struggle, and especially our Founder, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings (Rtd.), former President Professor John Evans Atta Mills and former Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur.
Later this month, the 29th, is the memorial of the late Amissah-Arthur, and we will be joining the family at an event to remember his work and contributions to building a Better Ghana.
On July 24th, we will celebrate the memory of the late Asomdwehene, as we always do, and I intend on that day as part of the commemoration to remind Ghanaians of his contribution to Ghana in various forms and how we can learn from him to step-up the development of the country, in the wake of the depths the NPP has sunk us.
Together with his family, the people of Keta and Anlo and the larger NDC family, we must, and I will host a gathering in November to celebrate the memory of our late Founder, Jerry Rawlings, in his native Keta.
I thank you for your kind attention.
I wish everyone a successful congress.
God bless the NDC, and God bless our homeland Ghana.
TheNational Democratic Congress(NDC) is expected to win the Assin North district seat in the next by-election, according to a Ghanaian polling organization, Global Info Analytics.
The Electoral Commission slated June 27, 2023, for the by-election at the Assin North constituency after the seat was declared vacant by Parliament following a Supreme Court order.
Executive Director and the Head of Polls for Global Info Analytics, Musah Dankwah told the media a recent poll conducted in April showed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will win the seat based on factors such as road network in the constituency, the standard of living of constituents and general optimism.
“If you look at the recent polling that we did at Assin Northas recent as April, there were signs of hope for the NDC to retain the seat in the sense that the sentiment of voters in the constituency doesn’t seem to support the ruling party.
“If you look at voters who said the country was headed in the wrong direction, they were about 77 percent. Now, people who said that the standard of living has gotten worse in the last twelve months, were about 66 percent and then when you look at people who said they were not optimistic things will get better in the next twelve months, they were about 80 percent.”
On Friday, May 26, 2023, four presidential aspirants of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) picked up forms after the party commenced accepting applications for its next flagbearership election.
At the close of day, four candidates successfully picked up their nomination forms.
Boakye Agyarko
Former energy minister, Boakye Agyarko, was the first to pick up nomination forms for the party’s primaries.
A team led by Benjamin Ashitey Armah picked up the forms on behalf of the presidential hopeful at the party’s headquarters in Accra on Friday, May 26, 2023.
Before picking up the nomination forms, Boakye Agyarko had previously met with all regional party executives during his tour.
According to Amarh, spokesperson for Mr. Agyarko’s campaign team, the former minister was the best candidate for the party to retain power in 2024. He described Mr. Agyarko as the “engine” of public policy in the NPP, noting that he would restore hope for the ordinary Ghanaian when given the nod.
Kofi Konadu Apraku
Serial flagbearer aspirant, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, also had his nomination forms picked up on his behalf by his team.
Apraku is a Ghanaian politician, economist, corporate executive, diplomat, and a member of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana.
Dr. Apraku was the Member of Parliament for the Offinso North constituency in the fourth parliament of the fourth Republic of Ghana.
Under the John Agyekum Kufuor government, Dr. Apraku served in various government positions. He served as the Minister of Trade and Industry and was the Minister of Regional Cooperation and NEPAD between 2003-2005. He was the Chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, a group that includes the Ministers in charge of Integration, Finance, and Trade. He was a governor of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) from 2003 to 2006.
After picking up his nomination on Friday, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku’s team said the NPP and Ghana needed a leader with political experience and economic prowess to turn the fortunes of the country around.
Mr. Kwame Obiri Nkansah, Director of Communication, Friends of Apraku, who picked up the forms, said, “We must go back to the basics if we want to address this economic crisis. Going back to the basics means growing what we eat and producing what we wear, and this is the focus of Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku.”
Francis Addai-Nimoh
Another former contender for the NPP flagbearer slot, Francis Addai-Nimoh, also had nomination forms picked up for him on Friday.
Addai-Nimoh is a leading member of the NPP has represented the party in parliament in the past.
Addai-Nimoh has served as a Member of Parliament for Mampong between 2008 and 2016. He contested in the NPP’s presidential primaries in 2014, where he lost.
Kwabena Agyei Agyepong
Former General Secretary of the NPP, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, has picked up a nomination to contest in the flagbearer contest.
After winning the general secretary position in 2015, Kwabena Agyepong and other national executives of the party were removed from office and suspended on grounds of being against the party’s then flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
His suspension has since been reversed after the party won the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
More to come
Meanwhile, other notable figures like Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Assin Central MP Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, former trade minister Alan Kyerematen, and former agric minister Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto are expected to pick up their nominations in the coming days.
President Akufo-Addo has said that he is confident he will hand over power to a New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate in 2025 following the upcoming general elections.
The president is reported to have made the comments during the NPP’s final rally ahead of the highly-anticipated by-election in the Kumawu Constituency of the Ashanti Region.
The pro-government Daily Guide led their May 22 edition with the banner headline “I’ll hand over power to NPP – Nana.”
Akufo-Addo is by his comment suggesting that the NPP will win the 2024 election and by that ‘break the 8’ – a terminology that the party has coined as it aims to win a historic third consecutive term in office under the current constitution.
The last time the president spoke about handing over, he expressed the wish to hand over to an NPP successor at a prayer and thanksgiving service at the National Mosque in Accra after the party’s National Leadership elections.
In the recent past, agric minister Bryan Acheamponghogged news headlines when he claimed that the NPP was never going to hand over power to the NDC warning that the party will match the main opposition if they try any foolishness.
The Kumawu by-election
Voters will choose a replacement for their Member of Parliament, Philip Atta Basoah, who died on 27th March this year while still serving his 3rd consecutive term.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is represented by Ernest Yaw Anim, whiles Kwasi Amankwaa is the NDC candidate. There are two independent candidates with the name Kwaku Duah also in the race.
Kumawu has been a beehive of political activity in the last week with big wigs from the NDC and NPP holding rallies in the constituency to canvass for votes for the vacant seat.
The EC has issued a notice that it is ready for the vote on Tuesday.
The candidature of Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia in the upcoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) primaries has been confirmed by aides, groups and supporters except for the man himself.
The closest he came to a declaration was a social media post titled “IT IS POSSIBLE,” and to say generally that the NPP can retin power beyond the cyclical eight years – that is, break the eight.
Bawumia has, however, made a public pronouncement on Saturday, May 20, 2023, during a courtesy visit to the Chief of Sekyere in the Sekyere Kumawu District, Adom News reports.
A report filed by Ohemeng Tawiah read in part: “His comments followed a question by the Chief of Sekyere, Nana Osei Kwabena Onini Pobi II for the Vice President to clear rumours he (Vice President) could be in the race to lead the NPP.
“In response, Dr Bawumia said he had thought and prayed about it and concluded that indeed when nominations open, he will be in the race.”
Bawumia is believed to have wide support of Members of Parliament (MPs) and within the rank and file, he will come up against other heavyweights like former trade minister Alan Kyerematen and Assin Central lawmaker, Kennedy Agyapong.
Most of the candidates are in Kumawu to support the NPP’s candidate in Tuesday’s parliamentary by-election, Ernest Yaw Anim.
The Member of Parliament for Asawase, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak has blamed the defeat of 17 National Democratic Congress(NDC) Member of Parliament (MPs) on the leadership reshuffle done by the party in parliament.
According to Muntaka, the defeat of 17 MPs in the just-ended NDC primaries is a result of the reshuffling of party leadership. He expressed concerns about the impact this loss of experience regarding the new candidates will have on the minority caucus in the upcoming parliamentary sessions.
“Now in 2023, the NPP is struggling to find its feet. They are struggling to stay above waters, and then you go and lose 17 MPs. Who do you blame? It will be very unfair if you blame the current [Minority] leadership because the primaries were announced before the coup that happened in Parliament, [and that was] very unstrategic.”
“You can do any scientific research, and it would point to you that the timing of that coup was absolutely wrong. It didn’t give the new leadership the opportunity to settle and strategize to save many more MPs,” citinewsroom.com quoted him as saying in an interview.
Muntaka added that it would be unfair to hold the current minorityleadershipresponsible because the timing of the party primaries was announced before the unexpected changes took place in parliament.
He maintained that the timing of the parliamentary reshuffling was ill-advised, as it did not allow the new leadership enough time to settle and strategize effectively to secure more seats.
The NDC held its primaries on Saturday, May 13, 2023, which resulted in significant losses for several incumbent Members of Parliament.
Approximately 17 incumbents lost their seats to newcomers.
Former Central Regional Chairman for the National Democratic Congress, Bernard Allotey Jacobs has revealed that he has advised Dr. Kwabena Duffuor to assist, the vice president, Dr. Bawumia‘s in his bid in becoming the next president of the country.
“It will be political wise for Duffuor to support Bawumia. This country is important than a political party. If you have the knowledge you have to help Bawumia. He (Duffuor) must look at the greater interest of the country….He can sit on the side lines and give supports to ensure the dynamics change”, he said.
In his view such a move would be considered “politically wise” because Ghana is important than any political party.
The former Central regional Chairman for the National Democratic Congress(NDC) in an interview he stated that prior to the NDC’s primaries, Dr. Duffuor called him to come and help his campaign but declined the invitation because he (Allotey) has already pitched camp with vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.
“Duffuor called me but I told him I have already declared my support for Bawumia so I can’t come and help him”, Mr. Bernard Allotey Jacobs said on reasons he didn’t partake in the NDC’s recent primaries.
Parliamentary Candidate-elect for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Builsa North Constituency of the Upper East Region, Mr James Agalga, says the contest among aspirants in the just ended primaries has reactivated and repositioned the Party for power in 2024.
He, therefore, urged Party delegates and supporters to close their ranks and focus on the elections in 2024, as there was no individual winner or loser in the just ended primaries.
“The winner in this contest is the National Democratic Congress. As for the primaries, it is nothing but a spring board to success for the Party in the upcoming elections,” he said.
Mr Agalga, the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, who was re-elected as the Parliamentary Candidate for the NDC in the 2024 general elections, said this in his victory address to delegates and supporters of the Party.
“The fact that there was competition here, I can say we have been able to reactivate the Party and positioned it in the manner that makes us prepared and ready to retain the seat and also deliver victory for Former President Mahama in the 2024 elections.”
Mr Agalga, who is the incumbent MP for the area and the Ranking Member on the Defence and Interior Select Committee of Parliament, polled 547 votes to beat Mr Simon Awog-Badek and Professor Godwin Awabil who polled 165 and nine votes respectively.
There is heightened security presence in theAsawase constituency as a result of misunderstandings between some delegates, party executives, and security authorities at the center.
According to reports, some delegates present at the voting centre were prevented from sitting on the chairs at the centre.
The massing of some delegates at the centre which has resulted in a charged atmosphere, is due to the alleged camping of most of the delegates by the incumbent Muntaka Mubarak.
The Director of Research of the party in the constituency added that some unknown men have invaded the voting centre.
These and other factors are the reason for the beefed-up security in the area.
TV3 reports that there are over 100 police and security officials at the centre to ensure that the situation does not escalate.
Asawase race
One of Ghana’s longest-serving members of parliament, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka is seeking to serve the members of his constituency for the sixth time.
Masawudu Mubarak, a businessman, is hoping to unseat the five-time MP.
Former President, John Dramani Mahama has slammed the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government for borrowing excessively.
Mr Mahama said when he was leaving office in 2016, the debt of Ghana was GHS120 billion with projects to show for it.
However, he said, at the moment, the debt is almost GHS600 billion with no projects to show.
Interacting with delegates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Sissala West as part of his campaign to be elected flagbearer of the party, on Tuesday, May 9, Mr Mahama said ” When we were leaving office the debt was GHS120billion. Today, it is almost GHS 600 billion but with no infrastructure projects to show for.
“At least we should have clean drinking water, a hospital built, and infrastructure but unfortunately, that is not the case.”
He further said Ghanaians are calling for the NDC to return to office.
“Ghanaians are asking the NDC to come back because they have realized that what they were told about the NDC, they were all lies,” Mr Mahama said.
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor II, aspiring Parliamentary Candidate forSekyere Drobonso, has stated that the residents in the area are eager for his leadership.
He disclosed this after a successful vetting and balloting ahead of the Parliamentary primaries on the 13th May 2023.
“The vetting was very smooth. I picked number 2 on the ballot paper which is divine selection because I’m Kwabena Duffuor II’’ he said.
According to Dr. Duffuor, the move to contest the primaries in the area was as a result of calls from the people of Sekyere Drobonso Constituency.
He added that the constituents are aware of the many years of his contribution to the party in the farming community.
“The People of the Sekyere Afram Plainshave been crying for me for a long time. It’s been 12 years of hunger since we created the constituency, 12 years of hardship, 12 years of visionless leadership and it is time for one of their own to lead them,” he stressed.
Dr. Duffuor II also stated that he will mobilize the needed resources for the Constituency for the branches to work with.
“We don’t need an MP who is going to sit in Parliament and wait for the salary to come. The constituency needs a businessman who can take risks and make this happen. That’s what we need. The constituency is so far behind in terms of development that we don’t need a business as usual MP. We need someone who is passionate about the constituency who feels for the people he is leading.
“My polling station Chairman is here with me, and has been in the constituency since 2012. We have a teak plantation in the constituency, a factory that has employed people in the Sekyere Afram plains including delegates, and other members of the district. How can I be alien? There are people who were not even present during the 2020 general elections. They never campaigned for the party, they didn’t participate in any activity all of the sudden they are in the register but we leave that to God, God is the ultimate Judge,” he added.
John Dramani Mahama’s assertion that Ghana’s cocoa industry has collapsed has been refuted by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
The former president had claimed that it now takes three months for farmer to receive their cash for cocoa beans.
Mahama also added that the cocoa farmers no longer enjoy free fertiliser as they used to during the period of the NDC.
But in a statement, COCOBOD said, “The notion of a collapsing cocoa industry. Such statements are misleading and detrimental to a vital sector like cocoa, which forms the foundation of Ghana’s economy. We, therefore, wish to use the opportunity to make some clarifications and also set the records straight.
“It is widely acknowledged that galamsey operations pose a significant danger to our nation, and any attempts to justify or rationalise the conversion of a piece of land, especially a cocoa farm, into a Galamsey site, like the former president sought to do, must be met with contempt.”
The statement added “this menace has the potential to negate all the investments made by the government to modernise cocoa farming and improve productivity. It is, therefore, crucial that prominent figures in our society exercise caution when making public statements that rationalize cocoa farmers trading their farms for temporary monetary benefit through illegal mining.
“Management also wishes to place on record, that the Former President’s statement regarding the increase in cocoa producer prices every year during his administration is inaccurate, since the records available point to the opposite. Specifically, there was no upward adjustment of the producer price of cocoa in the 2012/2013 Crop Season. Similarly, the producer price of the preceding season was maintained for the 2015/2016 Crop Season, with no upward adjustment.”
A constitutional lawyer and former MP forKumawu, Yaw Baah, has criticized the approach utilized by Parliament to guarantee that the guarantor system becomes one of the ways in which a Ghanaian can register to vote.
He said the legislative body could not compel the Electoral Commission (EC) to include the guarantor system in the Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) for continuous voter registration, which the electoral body sought to lay before the House.
He said Parliament’s suggestion that the EC should include the guarantor system in the C.I. was, at best, a recommendation, which the electoral management body was not bound by any law to follow.
“If Parliament insists that its decision for the EC to include the guarantor system is binding, then the exercise it undertook on March 31 by voting to recommend to the EC to include the guarantor system is unconstitutional.
The recommendation is an opinion by Parliament,” he said.
Mr Baah premised his argument on Article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution, the constitutional provision on subsidiary legislation, and the Supreme Court decision in Nii Tetteh Opremreh v EC and A-G, which interprets and enforces the said provision.
In that particular case, he said, the Supreme Court — speaking through Justice Sulemana Gbadegbe — distinguished between Article 11(7), which restricts Parliament’s powers with regard to subsidiary legislation, and Article 106(6) of the Constitution which gave Parliament the power to amend any substantive legislation.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Baah — a former Chairman of the Legal, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament — said Parliament, per Article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution, had the power to only annul subsidiary legislation, including C.I.s.
Recommendation by Parliament in respect of subsidiary legislation, he said, were only persuasive but not binding on the entity sponsoring the legislation.
In line with Article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution, the EC is seeking to lay a C.I. before Parliament to regulate the continuous voter registration exercise.
Per Article 11(7), the C.I., which seeks, among other things, to make the Ghana Card the sole identification document for the exercise and the only means for registration when laid in Parliament, will come into force after 21 sitting days, except the House annuls it by a vote of not less than two-thirds of all Members of Parliament (MPs).
Mr Baah said in the case of Nii Tetteh Opremreh v EC and A-G, the Supreme Court — in interpreting and enforcing Article 11(7) of the Constitution — held that apart from annulment, other acts by Parliament such as amendment, variation or change in a subsidiary legislation was unconstitutional.
According to him, the insistence by Parliament for the EC to include the guarantor system before the C.I. would be considered not an annulment and, therefore, technically the House had no power to force it down the throat of the EC as that would sin against Article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution as enforced by the Supreme Court in the case of Nii Tetteh Opremreh v EC and A-G.
“The Supreme Court has ruled that if Parliament does not take advantage of the annulment power under Article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution, it cannot do any other thing that is binding on the body that presented the subsidiary legislation.
“The Supreme Court was emphatic that when it comes to subsidiary legislation, Parliament is only a conduit through which constitutional bodies vested with power can bring a subsidiary legislation into force,” he said. Pre-laying
As part of the pre-laying process of the C.I., the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulation, 2023, Parliament rejected the EC’s decision to make the Ghana Card the sole means for the registration.
The House unanimously recommended to the EC to include the guarantor system in the C.I. before it could present it for consideration.
Legislators were of the view that unless and until the challenges confronting the issuance of the Ghana Card were dealt with, using the card as the only medium of voter registration would negatively impact the electoral roll and thereby deny some otherwise qualified persons from registering to vote.
The House took the decision after legislators adopted the report of the Committee of the Whole on the draft C.I.
The report was signed by the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, who is also the Speaker of Parliament,
Soon after the House had adopted the Committee of the Whole’s report, the Speaker said the House would now not depend on the assurances from the EC or the NIA, but “we are now making inputs into the preparation of the C.I.”. No legal effect
However, Mr Baah, who is also a former Chairman of the Judicial Committee and former Vice-Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament, was of the view that although Parliament had a right to go through a pre-laying process for the C.I., the decision made during the pre-laying process had no legal effect.
In view of that, he said, the report of the Committee of the Whole of the House and its subsequent acceptance by the House for the EC to include the guarantor system was not binding.
“Article 11(7), as interpreted and enforced by the Supreme Court in Nii Tetteh Opremreh v EC and A-G, is the current case law governing subsidiary legislation.
Therefore, whatever exercise undertaken by Parliament in respect of unanimously agreeing for the EC to include the guarantor system was not necessary because it would not have any legal impact.
He also wondered why Parliament unanimously voted to recommend to the EC to include the guarantor system when the C.I. had not been properly laid before the House.
Mr Baah said if Parliament was not happy about the exclusion of the guarantor system from the C.I., the lawful procedure was for the House to allow the EC to lay the C.I. and then annul it by two-thirds majority as stipulated by Article 11(7) of the Constitution and interpreted in Nii Tetteh Opremreh v EC and A-G.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Dr Mustapha Hamid has argued that it will be very easy for Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to beat John Mahama in the 2024 Presidential Election given their credentials and the policy positions they have both espoused so far.
Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana show last Thursday, Dr Hamid while declaring his support for Dr Bawumia’s bid to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) argued Dr Bawumia is in pole position to beat John Mahama, the presumptive flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“Well, I back Dr Bawumia. He’s going to win the NPP primaries. There is absolutely no doubt about it. Oh yeah! It’s done. I am sure the others [ aspirants to the flagbearer position] know. But it’s a competition so it’s okay for them to show up…So inside the NPP, he is going to win. Then when it comes to the national [ level], that is an even easier job. Have you heard John Mahama articulate any serious policy position? I don’t know; I haven’t heard. He has absolutely nothing to his name.
I want to sound very respectful. But with the greatest of respects, John Mahama is quite empty. And where we are as a country, we don’t need that hollowness, that shallowness. We need depth. We need deep thinking. We need someone who knows the craft of Government to be able to fashion out the kinds of programmes that will transform this country. And those are the programmes that under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and with the support of Dr. Bawumia, the NPP has put all the way for the transformation of this country…We are going to make sure that by the time we go into the elections in 2024, Ghanaians have absolutely no doubt in their minds that Bawumia is the choice,” he expatiated.
Campaigns for the 2024 Presidential Election have started in earnest even though Ghana’s dominant parties – the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are yet to select their flagbearers. John Mahama is predictably the NDC’s candidate for the election while it is still anybody’s game for the NPP even though Dr Bawumia is amassing massive support from party grassroots and high-ranking officers.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to resuscitate the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) if elected again as president.
Mr. Mahama says the once vibrant refinery is gradually collapsing under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
Speaking to NDC delegates in Ashaiman to wrap up his campaign in the Greater Accra Region, John Mahama said he will ensure TOR returns to its former glory.
“Since we (NDC) left office, TOR has never processed crude oil again. I remember before we left office, we sent to TOR the first batch of Ghanaian crude oil from our own oil fields for TOR to process.
“That oil sat there for several years, eventually, they discounted the oil and sold it out without processing it. I can assure you, when NDC comes back, TOR will stand on its feet again,” he said.
John Dramani Mahama, a prospective 2024 presidential contender for the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC), claims that party agents who will be taken to the National Collation Center, often known as the “strongroom” of the Electoral Commission (EC), will bring their own tea and purchase their own biscuits.
In the 2020 Presidential election petition filed by NDC’s Presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama at the Supreme Court, Rojo Mettle- Nunoo and Dr. Kpessah Whyte who were representatives of the party at the collation Center were blamed for dereliction of duty.
This was after the duo accused the Electoral Commission boss Jane Mensah of ‘tricking’ them to leave the premises to go and see Mr Mahama after which she announced the results on their blind side.
In one of the instances of cross-examination by Justin Amenuvor, the lead counsel of the Electoral Commission (EC), the former Deputy Health Minister Rojo Mettle- Nunoo said “I was offered tea, I wasn’t offered any biscuit” while he waited for the Electoral Commissioner for clarity on some anomaly observed in some of the results.
The Supreme Court stated in its verdict that Rojo Mettle -Nuno and Dr. Kpessah Whyte both second and third witnesses respectively for the petitioner John Mahama should rather blame themselves for leaving the National Collation Centre, that, they did not do their job of strict observation of the collation process therefore must accept the consequences.
Addressing delegates of the NDC at Ashaley Botwe in Greater Accra Region, on Tuesday as part of nationwide campaign tour ahead of the NDC’s Presidential Primaries, John Mahama said the party is going to be extra vigilant in 2024 election adding [on lighter note ] that, the party’s representatives at the strongroom will be provided their own tea and biscuits.
“We are not going to sleep. We are going to match them at the collation centers. We will be in the collation centers until the last ballot is accounted for. e are going to Match them in the EC’s strongroom. This time we don’t want tea we don’t want biscuit. Those we select to go to the strongroom we will give them our own tea and we will buy them digestive Biscuits to go to the strongroom”.
Mr. Mahama strongly stated that packing EC with activists of the ruling New Patriotic Party will not deter the NDC’s resolve to police the election results.
“Because they are afraid of losing the 2024 election they have started putting NPP activists as members of the Electoral Commission so that they can control the referee but when I say it is a Do or Die affair it means that it is a critical election whether they put NPP chairman on the electoral commission we shall match them boot for boot. We are going to match them at the polling stations we don’t Wana cheat anybody, but we don’t want anybody to cheat us. So we are going to mark them at the polling station and make sure that no extra ballot papers come from somewhere into that ballot box”.
Mr. Mahama charged branch and constituency executives of the NDC to actively get involved in the electoral processes in their respective polling stations and be very vigilant .
“Elections are won or lost at the polling stations..and in all your branches you have polling station. Vigilance at the polling stations is going to be in your custody. Campaigning in the polling station is going to be in your care and so we are going to rely on you to make sure that the election in your polling station is going to be free, fair and transparent. And we are putting in a robust system to be able to transmit out results and you the branch and constituency executives are going to be involved. It is a new system we will come and explain it to you”
Themilitary shouldn’t be a part of the primary security taskforce for the 2024 general elections, according to security analyst Dr. Adam Bonaa.
He said they should just be on standby for support if need be.
“They should not be part of the core tasksforce for the elections, they should be on standby,” he said on the Big Issue on TV3 Tuesday April 18.
Dr Bonaa was commenting on the meeting that the Police held with the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Monday.
The meeting which was called at the instance of the Inspector-General of Police was necessitated by press statements issued by the parties and subsequently followed by petitions to the Police Service with each party calling on the Police to arrest certain individuals of the other side for some alleged offences.
At the meeting, both parties were given the opportunity to air their grievances.
The main issue raised by them was in respect to comments by some political actors from both sides of the divide considered to be inflammatory.
The Police told the leadership of NDC and the NPP not to interfere with their job.
The Police said in a statement after a meeting with the leadership of the two parties that they “should do their politics and allow the Police to do policing. We therefore called on them to support us including by criticising us constructively to do a professional job in line with our constitutional mandate.
As we commend the leadership of the two political parties for availing themselves and contributing to the success of the meeting, we would like to call on Ghanaians to help us in our effort to build an independent Police service which will serve the greater good of the Ghanaian people and not the interest of any individual or group of people.
“Once again, we wish to assure the public that we remain committed to ensuring peace, security, law and order in the country at all times including before, during and after all elections in the country,” the statement said.
Former president, John Dramani Mahama has made light-hearted remarks about how his first day in office would be if he is sworn in as President of Ghana.
He asserts that he will hit the ground running because he is acquainted with the presidency having been the first occupant of the current location.
“7th January 2017, I showed Akufo-Addo around the Flagstaff House, where he will sit, his vice president, cabinet office, his meeting and conference rooms, I am the one who showed him around.
“So, I was asking a question, on 7th January 2025, who will show John Mahama around the Flagstaff House?” he asked party faithful at the St. Martins Secondary School in Nsawam.
Mahama was there as party of his National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearership campaign which was in the region during the week.
“I opened Flagstaff House and I am the first president to have worked from there, it is true it was built by president Kufuor but I was the first president to stay at Flagstaff House.
“So, after my inauguration, I will drive straight to Flagstaff House and start work,” he said to cheers from the supporters.
John Mahama campaign tour | Interacts with Nsawam Delegates || WoezorTV live https://t.co/VFlCLeRXe3
— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) April 12, 2023
Kennedy Agyapong, a member of parliament for Assin Central district in the Central region has spoken out against the notion that people from the north are violent.
Kennedy Agyapong who claims to have family ties to that part if the country stated that northerners are simply quick to defend themselves and their rights when they are being cheated or taken advantage of. Hence, the stereotype that they are violent is untrue.
In a video shared by Oman Channel on April 7, 2023, and sighted by GhanaWeb, the NPP flagbearer hopeful while speaking to members of the party in the Ayawaso East Constituency of the Greater Accra region, explained that because bortherners are quick to defend themselves, they are often labeled as violent. However, he stressed that this is not an accurate characterization of the people from the northern region of Ghana.
“…and the truth is, for my household, I celebrate both Salah and Christmas, in fact, my grandmother was a Muslim before she married. So, she was ‘Asante kremo’ but all my grandfathers are Muslims, I have Seidu, Abass, Siaka, and Yakubu, and all of these people are in my family who are Muslims.
“They settled more at Ajumako Anyan Asiam, whereby one of them married a Muslim there, so, all my family people are full of Muslims, except a few of us whose grandparents married Christians.
“You don’t know where I got my braveness from, my father used to teach at Wa, so I was always fighting and there was a certain day when I went to beat a certain lady. So, my mother was crying lamenting about what a man gave her during her pregnancy to mix with her meals and eat.
“So, I asked her about what she was lamenting about? and she replied that a certain man used to give her some powder to mix with her porridge and drink so that her son will become strong after delivery.
He added “So, for me, I am a ‘Wawula’ person, I come from Wa, and that is where the braveness comes from. That is why whenever I see the Northerners, I become happy because we all have the same character, we all hate nonsense … if you want to cheat us and we don’t give room for such things then you conclude we are not good.
“Do you understand? I know you don’t like cheating, so when it happens then you just say your mind, then they will conclude that they are violent people. So, I should sit down for you to cheat on me and go scot-free, no, is not possible. So, for me, I am one of you,” he said.
The race for the NPP flagbearership slot has top party members including Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; former trade and industry minister, Alan Kyerematen; former food and agric minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto; former NPP General Secretary, Kwabena Agyapong among others.
November 4, 2023, has been slated as the date for the NPP presidential primaries to elect a flagbearer for the general elections in 2024.
Former President, John Dramani Mahamahas refuted claims of attacking Asantes during his campaign at 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.
Tamale North Member of Parliament Alhassan Suhuyini has blasted national leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for shirking their core responsibilities and rather focusing on policing the Minority Caucus.
The MP is worried about the manner in which the national leadership continue to meddle in affairs of the caucus in parliament describing their actions as that of coaches.
He warned during a discussion on Pan African TV that the 2024 elections will be lost if the executives fail to recognize that their responsibility is to deal with core party issues and to run the NDC along with parliament.
He said instead of coaching MPs, the leaders should be working on piling pressure on government from outside the House by among others organizing street protests to back their opposition to bad laws and policies.
“So, when they have debate in parliament and the parliamentarians win that debate, you expect the national organisers and the women’s organisers and the chairmen and the secretary to be massing people up on the street.
“To complement what parliament is doing, but when what we have is executives sitting on the bench coaching parliament and that will not take us to victory.
“Our party leaders must begin to wake up and understand that the 2024 elections will not be won in parliament. It will not be won by the work of any parliamentarians,” he stressed.
Suhuyini is one of the open opponents of a change in the leadership of the Minority Caucus dictated via a statement from the party headquarters early this year, barely a month after Johnson Asiedu Nketiah took over as National Chairman.
The changes saw the removal of Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader and Cassiel Ato Forson, coming in as his replacement.
According to some caterers of the School feeding Programme inKumasi in the Ashanti Region they are likely yo lose their jobs should the New Patriotic Party (NPP) be ousted from power.
Dorothy Ofori-Sarpong, who provides meals for school children in basic schools in the region in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday claimed that all caterers in the region are bonafide members of the NPP.
According to her, there is no way they will be retained if theNational Democratic Congress (NDC) wins the 2024 elections.
She added that it is a known fact all current caterers must be members of the NPP.
Making a point for arrears owed them to be paid, Dorothy Ofori-Sarpong said caterers in the region have sacrificed for long, and it is time the government pays attention to their plight.
“We know that when the NDC wins power, we will all lose our jobs.,” Ofori-Sarpong told host Bernard Avle adding “All of us are members of the NPP”.
Dorothy also slammed the Ashanti Regional Minister for disrespecting them when they besieged his office to demand payments for their arrears.
She revealed that they have not been paid for three school terms and caterers have virtually run out of funds.
The caterers who are calling on the government to pay them their arrears and also increase the amount expressed their disappointment with the Regional Minister over how he received them.
Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah has justified his reason for reacting angrily to caterers under the government’s school feeding programme in the Ashanti Region when they presented a petition to him on Monday, April 3.
Speaking to the media however, Mr Simon Osei Mensah insists that the caterers did not follow due process and were protesting at the Regional Coordinating Council which compelled him to react the way he did.
“I was in a meeting yesterday when I heard some noise outside the office, and so I sent my special assistant to find out, and he came and told me it was caterers protesting outside. They did not even seek security clearance before demonstrating, so you can imagine what would have happened if the security personnel at the Regional Coordinating Council had reacted to them”.
“We must be truthful to ourselves in this country and stop pampering people because impunity is too much. Though I sympathise with the caterers, we should not allow people to break the law in their attempt to have their problems solved. We should solve our problems through legal means. You can’t just take the law into your hands and do what you want because I will not tolerate that.”
New Patriotic Party flagbearer hopeful, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has stated that majority of soldiers are willing to vote for him to become President if given the nod as the NPP flagbearer.
He says he is currently the only politician in Ghana whose ambition resonates with the ordinary Ghanaian.
According to the Assin Central Member of Parliament, even members of the Ghana Armed Forces are in full support of his bid to become president due to his history and contribution towards the welfare of the army.
“Ghana is hard but soldiers are saying that ‘Kennedy Agyapong, do not listen to anyone asking you to resign from the contest because you will win the 2024 election.’ Why are soldiers asking me not to resign? Because I am the only man in the history of Ghana who has taken $6 million from his own pocket to build a cardio and dialysis centre at the 37 Military Hospital.
“I am the only politician who has five fish ponds each spanning one kilometre at Atwima Kwanwoma in the Ashanti Region which I have gifted to the Ghana Armed Forces to be used in feeding soldiers. Because of that the soldiers ‘say we will reward you for the good you have done for us. If you don’t believe it, come to Burma Camp and conduct a survey, about 85% of soldiers will vote for you,” he told a group of NPP members in a campaign video shared by Oman Channel.
Kennedy Ohene Agyapong and some leading members of the NPP have declared their bids to contest the party’s flagbearership ahead of the 2024 presidential elections.
Some of his contenders include former Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
But speaking to the party supporters in the video sighted by GhanaWeb, Kennedy Agyapong stated that he remains the only viable candidate in the NPP capable of defeating former President John Dramani Mahama who is deemed the ‘presumptive’ flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress.
Aspiring Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, has announced an award scheme that will reward branches and constituencies of the party that work hard to increase the party’s parliamentary and presidential votes in 2024.
Mr Mahama who has been insisting during his tour of various constituencies that his 2024 campaign will be anchored by the branches, says the award scheme is intended to both set targets for the constituencies and encourage them to meet the targets.
“We are going to institute a reward system for constituencies and branches. We’ll give every constituency a target and if you meet the target and exceed it, the branch and constituency will be rewarded”, he announced to wild cheers from the executives.
Mr John Mahama is currently on a three-day tour of the 23 constituencies in the central region, campaigning ahead of the NDC’s May 13, 2023, presidential primaries.
According to him, the award scheme and branch-level campaign will be supported with the needed campaign materials and logistics.
He also cautioned constituency and regional executives against keeping campaign logistics and other resources, denying the branches where the real work of canvassing for votes take place.
Former President Mahama says, he will decentralise his 2024 campaign, much more than he did in 2020, working together with the branches and constituencies to engage, mobilise and canvass for the votes.
The former president has visited six other regions already, including the Volta, Bono East, Bono, Ahafo, Ashanti and Western regions.
Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe has kicked against proposals for the state to fund political parties.
He is completely opposed to the idea of the state bearing some of the cost incurred by political parties during elections.
This comes on the heels of former President John Dramani Mahama’s suggestion that the state finances campaigns of viable political parties in order to prevent financiers from determining electoral outcomes.
“I totally oppose any attempt by the state to fund political parties. Even if we were to consider the idea, it would be predicated on performance. But that’s even the second order of things. The first order of things is a no no no. Political parties pride themselves as mass mobilisers of people and in this country, I’m sure NDC and NPP can boast of about half the number of people that go to the polls.”
”It is not in the place of citizens to contribute towards a party but its members. If the party while in power had contributed to the growth and development to the extent that the individuals had built for themselves sufficient bulwarks against poverty there would have been no qualms at all about people being asked to contribute.”
Mr. Franklin Cudjoe indicated that he truly understands and supports John Mahama on his call for political campaign reforms, he however has reservations.
“In fact, the only part I support is the crowd-funding as it will eliminate situations where political parties owe big wigs who fund them.”
Mr. Mahama during a public lecture on March 22, at UPSA auditorium in Accra said viable political parties play a strong role in promoting democracy in the country hence the need for the state to incur some of their expenditure in future.
He admitted that the state is now broke and therefore financing political campaigns going into the 2024 general elections is not an option.
He recommended that public funding of political parties be scaled up in the future supervised by an independent and credible institution to ensure fairness in the sharing formula.
The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has announced plans to elect a flagbearer on 12 June to lead the party into the 2024 presidential elections.
The decision is in accordance with the party’s constitution, which states that when the party is in opposition it would elect its flag bearer two years before the general election.
A statement issued by the CPP on Tuesday (21 March) called on persons who desire to lead the CPP to avail themselves when the party opens nominations.
“At a central committee meeting held on 20 March 2023, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) has determined to hold its flagbearer elections by 12 June 2023.
“The decision to go by the constitutional provision was overwhelmingly agreed by all members present at the Central Committee which is the highest administrative decision-making body of the party,” the CPP statement said.
National Democratic Congress (NDC) flag bearer hopeful, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, has hinted at filing his nomination on Thursday, March 23, 2023.
Contained in a statement signed by the Spokesperson for the former Minister of Finance, Antonio Edem Asinyo, it said that Dr. Duffuor will file the forms at the NDC’s headquarters in Accra.
“Aspiring Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Kwabena Duffuor will be submitting his nomination to contest the flagbearer election at the Party HQ on Thursday, 23rd day of March 2023 at 11:00am,” the statement said.
Also, the statement said that the initial date of Wednesday, March 22, was changed due to a request from the national executives of the party.
This, he explained, is due to the fact that on that initial date, the NDC’s National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, is set to present what the party has termed the True State of the Nation Address.
“The change in date from Wednesday to Thursday is in response to a request from the National Executive of the party to reschedule, due to the party’s True State of the Nation Address to be delivered by the Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia today, Monday at the UPSA auditorium at 2pm,” he added.
The Duffuor camp has since urged members of the party to be present at the event, adding that their candidate will also be present.
Former President John Mahama says Ghanaians are yearning for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to return to power.
He says the citizenry is calling for the NDC government to come and rescue the country from the economic crisis caused by the inept Nana Addo administration.
He stated that unless Ghanaians rise and rescue the country from the hands of this family and friends’ government, things will deteriorate.
At this point, we must rescue Ghana from the hands of this government of family and friends. A family is on the verge of destroying this country, and as Ghanaians, we must rescue it from their clutches.
He made the remarks while speaking to NDC delegates in Techiman North as part of his Bono East Region campaign tour.
He stated that the country belongs to the next generation and that if we don’t find someone to save it, there will be no country for the next generation.
We require an experienced leader to lead the country. I’ve already been there. We witnessed what I did as president. I am not a newcomer. I have the knowledge. I have been to the Flagstaff House, where President Akufo-Addo is currently working as President. We must save this country.”
He went on to say that the NPP peddled lues and encouraged Ghanaians to try them, which destroyed our economy.
He said the NPP slammed him and described him as incompetent but when they were given the nod, they failed to deliver on their promises.
“Experience is not sold in the market. We need experience and not experimentation. We can no longer allow someone to come and experiment with our country.”
Assin Central Member of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong has expressed surprise at a proposed Constitutional Instrument (CI) seeking to make the Ghana Card the sole Identification document for registration of new voters.
The CI, proposed by the Electoral Commission is currently before Parliament with strong opposition from the Minority Caucus with strong support from the other side.
Agyapong, who is particularly concerned with the decision to strike out the passport as a proof of citizenship, made his views known on the matter in an interview he granted Sompa FM in Kumasi late last week.
“For Americans, even Ghanaians who have naturalized, they are so proud to hold an American passport. Ghana has people taking bogus decisions and I wonder those who sit there and take such decisions.
“That a whole Ghana passport, you claim that to register to vote, we won’t allow use of the Ghana passport, we have lost our identity to National Identification, what?” he lamented.
He reiterated his strict opposition to the CI asking, “what makes me know I am a Ghanaian? It is my passport.”
He also rejected the EC’s explanation that a lot of non-Ghanaians are holding the Ghanaian passport, “same is the case with these Ghana Cards,” he challenged.
The CI aims to amend the current law to make Ghana Card, the sole proof of identification for registration of new voters, removing the existing options of the use of passports and the guarantor system.
Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong, has accused his wife of being corrupt.
Stella Wilson Agyapong, the wife of famous politician and presidential hopeful, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong incurred his wrath in her attempt to shield a supposedly corrupt health worker who exploited a woman at a government hospital.
On the account of the Assin Central Member of Parliament, a woman he had met at a public place walked up to him to narrate how a corrupt nurse was pocketing money at a hospital in Ghana.
“A woman I meet detailed how a nurse who was attending to her friend’s daughter wrote a wrong receipt for her and how she took her on for writing a receipt of GH¢40 when she had paid GH¢250 at the hospital…my wife who was there with me and knowing me very well urged the woman not to mention the name of the hospital to me, that is why I say she’s corrupt. I would have easily called out the hospital in today’s interview in Kumasi,” he disclosed on Sompa TV.
The MP who called his wife corrupt also announced that he will be quick to sack her if she carries the same attitude during his time as president of Ghana.
“She is corrupt, she used to be very principle when she returned to Ghana from the United States…do you know why my wife is corrupt?…how do you change the nation with this. You want to be First Lady, I will sack you without hesitation with this attitude…was that her attitude when she living abroad?” he quizzed.
According to Kennedy Agyapong, his beloved wife who spent years working abroad should have known better by not standing in his way especially when he had plans of naming and shaming the culprit to serve as a warning to others.
According to Dr. Bossman Asare, the Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), the commission has no interest in appeasing one political party at the expense of another.
In an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, he stated categorically that the officials of the Commission have their core mandate.
This, he explained, is to make sure transparency, fairness and integrity are upheld at all times as the Commission’s core values state.
“Though we are human beings, and we sometimes make some errors, we don’t work to get party A satisfied as others suffer,” he said.
This comment comes on the back of controversies that have characterised plans by the EC to roll out a Constitutional Instrumentto make the Ghana Card the solely required document for voters’ registration.
The Commission, following the announcement, has been accused by the National Democratic Congress of attempts to disenfranchise eligible voters and also rig the elections.
But Dr Bossman assured Ghanaians of free and fair elections in 2024, stating that the EC cannot and would not be moved by any political party.
Kwaku Annan, a well-known Ghanaian political analyst, has stressed the need for citizens to be informed and actively involved in the political process.
Mr Annan said this when he joined host Fiifi Pratt on the Afro Joint Show to share his insights on the state of politics in Ghana today.
Annan also called out Ghanaian politicians, stating that they are able to behave recklessly because thecitizensof Ghana are not sufficiently informed and do not hold them accountable for their actions. This highlights the crucial role that education and civic engagement play in shaping the political landscape of any nation.
To run in the National Democratic Congress‘ (NDC) upcoming parliamentary primary in the Bono Area, 25 candidates have picked nomination forms.
Out of the number, 22 are males, three are females, and seven are first-time aspirants.
The Sunyani East and West constituencies have two and three aspirants respectively, while Dormaa West, has two, Dormaa Central, has three and Dormaa East, has two.
The Berekum East and West constituencies have two and three aspirants respectively, but the Jaman South and Jaman North constituencies have one and two aspirants.
The Banda constituency has one aspiring candidate, while Tain and Wenchi constituencies have two aspirants each.
Six incumbent Members of Parliaments have also picked nomination forms to contest in the primaries to seek re-election to lead the Party in their respective constituencies.
They are Ahmed Ibrahim, Banda, Adama Sulemana, Tain, Haruna Seidu, Wenchi, Vincent Oppong Asamoah, Dormaa West, Williams Okofo-Darteh, Jaman South and Frederick Yaw Ahenkwah, Jaman North.
Briefing the Ghana News Agency about the process leading to the vetting in an interview in Sunyani, Mr Dennis Yeboah Twumasi, the Regional Secretary of the Party said the vetting would be done from Monday, March 27 to Wednesday, March 29 this year at the regional level.
He said the vetting committee would be composed of one National Executive Committee (NEC) representative, two members appointed by the regional executive body, a lawyer appointed by the NEC from the legal committee of the Party and a member of the regional Council of elders.
Twumasi explained an aspirant must be endorsed by at least one branch executive member of the Party from 50 per cent of the total branches in a constituency.
Richard Ahiagbah, Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), says former President John Dramani Mahama has nothing new to offer Ghanaians.
This comes after President Mahama, during the launch of his campaign in Ho, said he had studied the challenges of the country over the last five years and that he had gathered solutions to the problems of Ghana.
“Some have lost all hope in the democratic process and believe that democracy is no better than other forms of governance.”
“Our present state and its effect on the people trouble me a lot, and this is why, as you have observed, at every significant or wrong turn of the decision taken by this government, I have, with the benefits experience I have acquired, provided alternative solutions and even offered the expertise and knowledge of some of my party colleagues to help get us out of these challenges,” Mahama said.
Reacting to the comments of Mahama in a tweet, Richard Ahiagbah, the Director of Communications for the NPP, said Ghana knows the abysmal performance of Mr Mahama when he was president.
He insisted that Mr. Mahama failed when he was given the opportunity to lead the country.
According to the politician, Mahama has been tried, tested, and disapproved.
“Reselling H.E John Mahama…Ghana knows his dismal record; there is nothing new to add with an expensive campaign launch…Tried, tested and disapproved. #Ghana,” Richard Ahiagbah tweeted.
A former president, John Dramani Mahama, has for the umpteenth time blamed the Akufo-Addo-led administration for the country’s economic woes.
Mr Mahama indicated that despite the hard work of his administration, Ghanaians decided to vote for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2016 general elections due to the “lofty” promises by the then opposition party in hope that their problems will be resolved.
However, they have been disappointed by theAkufo-Addo government, he said.
Speaking during his campaign launch to contest in the presidential primary of theNational Democratic Congress(NDC) ahead of the 2024 general elections, in Ho on Thursday, March 2, Mr Mahama said “This government has been clueless and in many ways callous the unthinkable has happened and our country today is broken on all fronts, Ghana is bankrupt.
“We are saddled with debts we simply can’t pay, we have suffered the global humiliation of defaulting on our debts and being downgraded by all credit rating agencies to the lowest level ever seen in our history”
He added “Our economy is in the worst ever shape with suffering and pain on an unprecedented level.”
He further said he does not take his decision to contest in the flagbearer elections of the NDC lightly.
In his view, the 2020 general election is the most important and defining poll in the Fourth Republic hence his decision to contest.
Speaking at his campaign launch in Ho on Thursday, March 2, he said “For the 2024 elections which I consider to be the most important and defining poll of our time, I have not taken this step lightly, it has been the product of months of prayer, broad consultations and sober reflections.
“I have searched my sole and paid close attention to your voices, to your daily struggles and to your present national predicament.”
He added “At this stage, Ghana demands experience not experiment, Ghana demands togetherness and not divisiveness, now is the time for the bravery of heart and clarity of purpose.”
A prospectiveNew Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Francis Addai-Nimoh, has questioned whether any Akufo-Addo cabinet minister can successfully steer the NPP to victory in the 2024 general election.
He claims that the party requires a “new face” in order to win the general election.
He made this statement after visiting the Manhyia Palace to declare his intention to run in the NPP presidential primaries.
There, the Asantehene advised the party to carefully select a candidate who is likely to win power.
“The mantra of the party now is, we need to break the eight. For the first time, we are ready to set this record in the political discourse of our country. I believe it is possible, it can be achieved. One of the conditions I have outlined about the possibility of this is that the party needs a new face. A new face that is unblemished, a new face that will come with a fresh appeal,” Addai-Nimoh said.
“A new face that has a natural appeal to unify people, not any anyone with an artificial ability but one that the people resonate with, and a new face that is not part of the current administration. That is what the records show, that if you have a candidate who is part of the outgoing government, you are not likely to win,” the flagbearer hopeful added.
Addai-Nimoh is on his second attempt, seeking to become the NPP’s presidential candidate for the 2024 general elections.
“So, I think we need a new face so that is what I have been championing to the grassroots and rank and file of the party that if we are determined, we can set this record by getting a new face and that new face is no other person than Addai-Nimoh.
As the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) heads to its Presidential and Parliamentary primaries, quite a significant amount of youth have shown interest in taking up the mantle to lead.
Thirteen aspirants have filed their nomination to contest some big wigs in the party to bring new ways of governance in the various constituencies they seek to represent.
It is unknown the reason behind the numbers, but recent protests by the youth in Ghana against those in authority have empowered the youth to be more active in their criticism.
This maybe the reason why the youth in the party have decided contest to change the narrative and provide better lives to the constituents they seek to represent.
Here are the bold candidates in their prime who are ready to go up against big names in the party on May 13, 2023.
Emmanuel Kojo Jones-Mensah
The 32-year-old is an entrepreneur and philanthropist born in Accra. He seeks to win the Keta Constituency seat being occupied by Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey.
Emmanuel Kojo Jones-Mensah
Education: London Metropolitan University LLB, Business Law (2009 – 2011); Coventry University MBA, Oil & Gas Management ( (2011 – 2012) and Rushford Business School, European Professional Doctorate (EDP-EU) (2022).
He is the Chief Executive Officer of Empire Domus Group Ltd, KJM Trading LTD and serves as the Director of Dominion Int.Petroleum Ltd.
Kwame Obeng Adjinah
Mr Obeng Adjinah, another entrepreneur, plans to secure the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai seat, being occupied by New Patriotic Party’s Alfred Obeng for the NDC.
A flyer of Kwame Obeng Adjinah indicating that he will be contesting the Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai Constituency seat
He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Land Economy from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
He also holds a Professional Executive Master in ADR from University of Virgin Islands and Pulse of Africa (GGA).
Baba Sadiq Abdulai Abu
Baba Sadiq, 37, has a similar ambition as Mr Obeng Adjinah. He also wants to win the Okaikoi Central seat from Patrick Yaw Boamah of the NPP, for the party.
The founder of 3 Media Networks Limited who is a trained media, communications and sustainability specialist and entrepreneur has 17 years of working experience.
He has made a huge impact in the music industry, where his company, 3 Media Networks Limited acknowledges well-deserving artists.
Eric Edem Agbana
Deputy National Deputy Youth Organiser, Eric Edem Agbana, will also be contesting in the upcoming primaries. The 29-year-old is set to contest for the Ketu North parliamentary seat.
Eric Edem Agbana
Mr Agbana is a Fellow of the prestigious School of Transnational Governance of the European University Institute, Policy Analyst and Social Entrepreneur with interest in helping Startups and Non-Profit Organisations to build sustainable business models.
He is also the NDC’s manifesto spokesperson on Youth Development. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Economic Policy Management and is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Administration, Leadership and Governance.
Lamtiig Abugri Apanga Esq.
The private legal practitioner, believed to be below the age of 40, seeks to contest Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaanev for the Nabdam seat.
Lamtiig Abugri Apanga Esq.
The lawyer has since 2017 provided legal services to the party. He served on the Protocol and Accreditation Committee of the NDC during the National Delegates Conference held in Accra, 2022.
Mr Apanga holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelors of Law (LLB) from the University of Ghana. Again, he holds HND Marketing from Takoradi Polytechnic (Takoradi Technical University).
Alhassan Sayibu Suhiyini
The Tamale North legislator hopes to retain his seat. The 43-year-old made his first appearance in Parliament in 2016.
Alhassan Sayibu Suhiyini
Mr Suhuyini is working on a PHD in Public Administration. He is expected to complete it in 2024.
Dela Goldheart
Amelia Amedela Amemate, popularly known as Dela Goldheart is a Ghanaian Gender activist and feminist. Dela is among female candidates who will be contesting in the upcoming primaries.
Dela Goldheart
She served notice of contesting the NDC parliamentary primaries in the Anlo Constituency of the Volta Region in a Facebook post.
Dela is a product of the University of Ghana. She was one of the aspirants for the 2012/2013 Student Representative Council (SRC) Presidential elections and she was popularly known as Ame Ame, a nickname coined from her full name.
She has embarked on various philanthropic works. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and as of the time of filing this report, was pursuing a PhD in Gender.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
42-year-old Ablakwa is also working on retaining the North Tongu seat for the third time. He won the North Tongu seat in 2012, 2016 and 2020.
North Tongu Mp, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Mr Ablawa who has been a key critic of the National Cathedral project has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Philosophy (2006), an MA in Communications and Public Relations (2017), as well as Master of Science in Defence and International Politics (MDIP) (2019).
He once served as Deputy Minister of Information and Education under the previous NDC government.
John Dumelo
39-year-old, actor turned politician, John Dumelo, has also not relented on his quest to be the next MP for the Ayawaso West Wuogon. He is set to mount a spirited comeback as some residents in the Guan District have supported him with a token of GHC 5,500 for his filing fee.
John Dumelo
Mr Dumelo obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
He had his basic education at the Christ the King School in Accra. He attended Achimota School, was part of the Drama Club and also won the Fliers Guy in Mo-TOWN prize.
He is currently a farmer and politician.
Samuel Nartey George
Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Samuel Nartey George, who made his first appearance in Parliament in 2016 also wants to retain his seat for the second time.
Samuel Nartey George
The 37-year-old who hails from Ahwiam, Old Ningo, has a Bsc. Degree in Agricultural Engineering (Soil & Water Engineering) (2005), Bachelor Of Law Degree (Llb) (General Law) (2015), and an Executive Masters (Dissertation) (Conflict, Peace & Security) ( 2020).
He once served at the Office of the President as a Communications Specialist.
Francisca Mawufemor Adjei
Francisca Mawufemor Adjei will slug it out with Joycelyn Tetteh; the incumbent MP for North Dayi.
Francisca Mawufemor Adjei
She has held various portfolios in the party including the Branch women organiser for Ayawaso central constituency (Freeman hostel branch), from 2004 -2012, a Branch member in the Odododiodo Constituency from 2012, among others.
She also worked with the Electoral Commission as an officer during the 2012 voter registration.
The CEO of Franca’s Kitchen and Francisca Mawufemor Adjei Foundation has a Degree and Masters in Communication from the African University College of Communications.
Yayra Vera Hayibor
Another female aspirant to look out for is Yayra Vera Hayibor who is in the race for the only orphan seat in the Volta Region; Hohoe. Yayra Vera Hayibor is a product of Mawuli school where she completed her secondary education in 2007.
She is an alumnus of the University of Ghana and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Theatre Arts in 2014.
She proceeded to study law at the University of Strathclyde in 2015 and graduated with a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Law and Sustainable Development. Her Master of Law thesis has been published on the challenge’s worldwide website.
Yayra is currently pursuing a PhD in Law, with focus on Labour and Immigration law at the University of Glasgow Law School and on the Work on Demand research team.
Prince Benson Mankotam (Out)
Mr Mankotam would have made it on the list but for his sudden withdrawal. In a Facebook post on February 24, 2023, he announced his decision not to pick up forms to contest.
According to him, the decision was made after considering several factors post the declaration of intent.
On January 21, 2023, Mr Mankotam announced his intention to contest for the Senya East seat.
Despite his withdrawal he noted that “the right choice is to send the elephant back to the bush.”
Meanwhile, on Friday, February 24, 2023, the NDC officially closed all nominations.
Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini, has disclosed that the entire Minority Caucus in Parliament is solidly behind the presidential candidature of John Dramani Mahama.
He told Oyerepa TV on February 22, that all 137 National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs were in attendance at a meeting held earlier this week to pledge their support for the former president.
Asked whether all NDC MPs were in support of Mahama’s bid to lead the NDC into the 2024 elections, he responded: “Absolutely, all Members of Parliament on the ticket of the NDC were all present…
“… and on behalf of all of us, our new leader Hon. Ato Forson made a resounding declaration of total support for his candidature and it was followed by a resounding applause followed by a standing ovation.”
According to him, “the brother of a possible contender was introduced at the meeting because he is also a Member of Parliament and he declared his support,” he added without naming the said MP.
Mahama declares bid, picks nomination forms
Mahama’s formal intention to run for a third consecutive shot at the presidency was reported when a number of NDC MPs confirmed after a meeting that he was going to contest.
On February 22, forms were picked on his behalf by Prof. Alabi and regional chairmen amid fanfare. Mahama is expected to address the media in due course to formally announce his bid.
Mahama’s political roots date as far back to the days of Ghana’s independence when his father served in the Nkrumah government.
John Mahama, a political thoroughbred
He is reputed to be one of the most thoroughbred politicians of the Fourth Republic having served from the local level (Assembly) through to becoming a Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress.
Mahama held deputy minister and ministerial portfolios under the Rawlings government before rising to become vice president under John Mills and president when he took over from Mills then won his first full term in 2012.
He is widely expected to contest for the presidency come 2024 as he seeks a final term in office on the back of two straight defeats to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2016 and 2020.
An Aide to former President John Mahama says the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) do not stand a chance in winning the 2024 elections it criminally destroyed the national economy.
According to Felix Kwakye Ofosu, his boss comes with a vision that will make reckless borrowing and mismanagement of the economy a thing of the past.
Former President John Mahama announced his comeback bid after picking forms on Wednesday to contest the flagbearership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“Former President Mahama wants to restore this nation’s economy to health. The reckless borrowing, deliberate mismanagement and criminal ways of public resources will be a thing of the past.
“NDC government will carry out far-reaching governance, political and economic reforms for it to be impossible for a government to destroy the country ever again at the extent the NPP has done,” he said.
He added that former President Mahama will in the coming days engage Ghanaians on public platforms to spell out his new vision and his reason for a comeback.
“But even before he does that, even a toddler knows that this NPP government, is simply not an option in this election and that the criminal destruction of our economy that Bawumia has supervised is sufficient reason to boot them out at the earliest opportunity come 2024.”
Meanwhile, the Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah says the former President is indecisive and has nothing new to offer.
“We’ve defeated the person twice so we are not afraid of Mahama. Those visions he had vanquished the economy. We won’t allow him to come and repeat it because he has nothing new,” he said.
New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful Kennedy Agyapong has assured Ghanaians that he will not tolerate any form on incompetence under his regime.
Speaking in an interview with maritime news in the US, Mr Agyapong indicated that the slighted mistake by any appointee will warrant his dismissal.
“I am not going to be a dictator. I won’t but I will be strict. One mistake, you’re fired. And I am not afraid to fire. I have said it several times that even if my wife makes a mistake I will fire her,” he assured.
Mr Agyapong also spoke about how mechanisation of agriculture will boost crop production which could earn foreign exchange through exports and lessen the burden on the country’s currency.
He again spoke about how he will instill patriotism in the citizenry through the singing of patriotic songs in schools and inculcation of love of the country in them.
Mr Agyapong faces stiff competition for the flagbearership position as stalwarts like Alan Kyeremanten, Mahamudu Bawumia, Boakye Agyarko, Owusu Afriyie Akoto and others are in the race.
First National Vice Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chief Sofo Awudu Azorka has called all educated members of the party to accept to work as polling agents on the day of elections in the year 2024.
According to him, the NDC would need such individuals will be able to cross-check all rigging activities planned by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“If you know you are learned who can read and write then you have to go to the polling station to work on the day of elections. Go and work as polling agents, when they count two, you also count same”, Chief Sofo Awudu Azorka said in an interview with TV XYZ monitored by MyNewsGH.com.
“Don’t wait for anyone to employ you as polling agents before you do so”, he added.
Chief Azorka warned that people with the intent of getting positions and jobs in the next NDC government must first join their leader John Mahama in the campaign and the struggle to win power and not wait till they win before they appear with the CVs for jobs.
“I’m telling you that don’t wait till the old struggles and win before you go to him with your big CVs for positions. Go and work as polling agents, when they count two, you also count the same. Don’t wait for anyone to employ you as polling agents before you do so”, he stressed.
“They have been rigging the elections, but not always and this is going to be the last. It is the last one”, he added.
