Former President John Mahama has launched a scathing attack on his opponent, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Presidential Candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), following the latter’s recent media encounter.
The flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), on a campaign tour in Accra on Tuesday, described Dr. Bawumia’s performance as a “stammerer” who was caught lying.
“When a smooth talker suddenly becomes a stammerer at a media encounter, then you know they are lying,” John Mahama said, referencing Dr. Bawumia’s reputation for being articulate.
He lamented, “Someone who can speak fluently like a machine gun suddenly becomes a stammerer during a media encounter, saying ‘erm erm.'”
Addressing party members at Bonikope, Sege, and Kasseh as part of his campaign tour, Mr. Mahama lamented, “We [NDC] announced that we were going to launch our manifesto on August 24. Immediately, our [NPP] opponents announced that they were going to do a media encounter on August 25, the very next day.”
Mahama further criticized, “The intention behind doing that media encounter, the next day after we had announced our manifesto, was to divert Ghanaians’ attention from the NDC manifesto. That was the main reason they decided to do a media encounter the very next day we launched our manifesto.”
He added, “But when you do something with dubious intentions, it backfires on you. Do you know how to tell when someone is lying? If you have people who are smooth talkers, who can speak fluently like a machine gun, and they become stammerers and start stammering, you know they are lying.”
Mahama stated, “This is the first time I’ve seen a Vice President running away from his President’s track record.”
He argued that Dr. Bawumia cannot separate himself from the government’s failures while only claiming credit for its successes.
“Government is a continuum; government is a whole; government is a collective,” Mahama emphasized, adding that democratic governance is a shared responsibility.
He criticized Dr. Bawumia for being quick to claim success but denying responsibility for failures.
This is not the first time Mahama has clashed with Dr. Bawumia.
In 2020, the two engaged in a heated exchanges over the government’s handling of the economy.
Former President John Mahama has consistently accused Dr. Bawumia of being dishonest about the government’s achievements.
The exchange between John Mahama and Dr. Bawumia highlights the intense rivalry between the two candidates ahead of the December elections.
– BY Daniel Bampoe