A lecturer at the History and Political Science Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr. Samuel Adu-Gyamfi has urged Nana Akufo-Addo to measurably react to constant jabs directed at him by President John Mahama.
President Mahama recently questioned the leadership credentials of Mr. Akufo-Addo, describing him as “divisive” and “intolerant” person who goes begging to be elected as president in the forthcoming elections.
Addressing supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Northern Region Tuesday, he said “What we need in Ghana is an understanding president. The era of dictatorship is gone: we are not looking for a dictator, somebody who cannot stand criticism in his own party.
“If you criticise him, he will sack you. … That is not the kind of leader we are looking for. We are looking for a leader who can bring people together.”
“We are looking for a leader who can unite Ghana and not a leader who will divide Ghana. If you cannot unite your own party, how do you unite a nation?” teased President Mahama.
However, Akufo-Addo said during his tour of the Greater Accra region that he will not traverse same tangent as President Mahama.
“President Mahama says I have slept, I have done this, I’ve done that’, I won’t insult him back, I won’t throw innuendos back at him, I will focus on telling the people what my message is, my message of transformation, my message of job creation, my message of empowering young people,” he stated.
But, Mr. Adu-Gyamfi believed Akufo-Addo’s posturing might cause his defeat in the forthcoming elections slated for December 7.
He thus urged the three time presidential candidate of the NPP to rescind his decision not to reply president Mahama.
“I don’t expect him to reply back on the same measure, but he must find a way to allow his publicists deal with critical issues that bothers on the leadership of president Mahama,” Mr. Adu-Gyamfi said in an interview with an Accra based Class FM Thursday.
“If they do not do that and they sit aloof, I can tell you that they will be shocked even in the first round,” he warned.
He said President Mahama’s criticisms of Akufo-Addo hinges on a political strategy to paint the latter as undesirable candidate which is aimed at appealing to the aggrieved members of the NPP.
“When you look at the fact that the NPP itself has internal challenges just as any other political parties have it, you cannot tell me that Paul Afoko is at peace, you cannot tell me that the other NPP members of the NPP fraternity who are unhappy with the outcome of that decision are entirely happy today.
“So when the president begins to speak in a certain manner, what he is doing is to appeal to the conscience of such persons who are aggrieved within the NPP.
“No matter how we disregard and discredit what the president is doing today, he is appealing to some members within the NPP who are aggrieved. If these people can decide that they will not go and vote it will also be against the NPP itself,” he said.
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