Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Dramani Mahama has told his opposite number in the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia that he has not insulted anybody by saying there is hypocrisy in Ghana.
Mr Mahama says that he stated the obvious truth that there is hypocrisy in Ghana.
“I said that hypocrisy is one of the things drawing our nation back and I hear my colleague or my opponent describing it as an insult. When you have done such harm to this country and you go and they praise you is not hypocrisy? When you have done harm to this country and you go and a priest is praising you, is it not hypocrisy? When you have done harm to this economy and you go and fetish priest is pouring schnapps on gods and praising you, is it not hypocrisy? If I say that have I insulted you? I haven’t insulted anybody,” he told a gathering at Shai Osodoku on Monday, September 16 as part of his campaign.
Prior to his comment, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia had told him that there is a need to use appropriate language in the campaigns ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Dr Bawumia said that the elections were not about insults and verbal attacks, but rather about ideas. His comments come on the heels of a recent critique of the clergy, traditional leaders, and civil society organizations (CSOs), by Mr Mahama, accusing them of failing to hold the NPP government accountable for its governance.
Speaking during his campaign tour of the Greater Accra Region, Dr. Bawumia expressed disappointment in Mahama’s statements, suggesting that the former President’s words reflect frustration over the possibility of losing the upcoming elections.
Mr Mahama had said during a campaign event at the Okaikwei North Constituency on Sunday, September 15 that “We must come together and tell the government that their time is up. They have underperformed. But you will find some chiefs, pastors, traditional leaders, and Muslim leaders congratulating them for a good job done, telling him (Bawumia) that he has done well. You want to win with this kind of bad governance?” Mahama questioned.
He further accused these groups of hypocrisy, stating, “Hypocrisy is what is pulling this nation back. It doesn’t matter who is in office; we must be truthful at all times. These are the things that hinder our development.”
But in a response to hum, Dr Bawumia said “He’s realized he is about losing miserably, so everything gets him angry. I have heard him insulting the clergy, traditional leaders, Imams, and CSOs. He says they are hypocrites.”
He added “we must have at least some standards of decency in the language we speak as politicians. The elections are not about insults, they are about ideas, it is when you have no ideas that you insult people. For us, we have bold solutions to problems.”
