Henry Nana Boakye
Ex-President John Dramani Mahama has been accused of pretending to be a lover of the Free Senior High School (SHS) flagship programme introduced by the Akufo-Addo administration.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Youth Wing, which made the accusation, said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer does not believe in the Free SHS policy and will collapse it when given another chance to govern this country.
A statement by Henry Nana Boakye, aka Nana B, the NPP National Youth Organizer, said, “Reference to Mr. John Dramani Mahama’s dishonest and opportunistic disposition relative to the implementation of the Free SHS policy, the National Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) wishes to bring clarity to the matter, lay the facts bare, and expose the mischief and contempt therein.”
“On Saturday, 8th August, ex-President Mahama paid a courtesy call on the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Abukari II, during which he made a deceptive statement that free senior high school education had come to stay,” the statement added.
It quoted him as saying that “if anybody tells you that I, John Dramani Mahama, will abolish Free SHS when I come into power, tell that person he is a bloody liar.”
However, the NPP youth have reacted, saying Mr. Mahama and his NDC have always condemned President Akufo-Addo for daring to implement the Free SHS policy and have frustrated him ever since it commenced.
According to the NPP youth, the NDC flagbearer and his party are on record to have sponsored over 46 radio and television adverts against the Free SHS policy in 2012, adding that Mr. Mahama, on November 23, 2012, told the people of Okere in the Eastern Region that Free SH programme would collapse the education system of Ghana.
“That Mr. Mahama on October 1, 2018 reiterated his aversion to Free SHS, stating that it is unthinkable to spend GH¢2 billion on free SHS and that it is seriously constricting government’s budget and therefore when he becomes President, it will undergo a review.
“That Mr. Mahama on November 25, 2017 stated that ‘Lalasulala Free SHS’ will fail. That Mr. Mahama at the NDC’s Tarkwa unity walk strongly rejected the Free SHS policy stating that it is unwise to implement it,” the statement noted.
Nana B said “it is important to note that the stern opposition to the Free SHS policy witnessed over a decade is deep-rooted in the NDC. Every single member of the NDC, including high-ranking leaders have, overtime, opposed and worked against the implementation of the Free SHS policy.”
Besides, he mentioned a number of top NDC gurus including their running mate, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, who all made statements to undermine the policy, adding that the NDC would collapse the whole programme when given the chance.
By Ernest Kofi Adu