Communications Director of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akomea thinks President Mahama has completely lost touch with not only the people but is grappling with his own campaign message.
It follows suggestions by the President that a certain cabal in the media is blocking his campaign message from getting down to the people.
In a statement, Akomea said “this excuse from President Mahama shows clearly that President Mahama is indeed cut off from the daily reality of the Ghanaian people” and that he should be the last person to complain about media space.
Reason
That, he said was because “his series of campaign tours, including the ‘Changing Lives’ Tours parts 1 and 2, Accounting to the People Tours parts 1 and 2, and helicopter campaign tour and current campaign tour are all covered by major and minor media, across the country.”
Aside that, he pointed out that “stations including radio gold and Montie radio plus their affiliates devote programmes exclusively to publicise the cause and agenda of President Mahama” whiles a recent survey found that he vastly dominates coverage in the state owned media, such as the state run GBC TV and radio, Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Times newspaper.
He indicated that “President Mahama’s giant and well lit dumsor-proof billboards showcasing his agenda dominate billboard advertising in Ghana today” whiles the last six months have seen multiple television advertising across the country showcasing how his deeds have brought ‘aburokyire to Ghana’.
Akomea also talked of how the biggest private newspaper regularly devotes several prime pages to advertise President Mahama and his deeds whiles half a dozen of NDC inclined private newspapers devote tons of ink on a daily basis to promote the works and agenda of President Mahama aside the fact that his image and message dominates space on even public buses at the expense of the state, not to talk about the vast array of well resourced communicators, at the Flagstaff House, the Ministry of Communications and NDC headquarters who on daily basis, engage the media to showcase President Mahama’s agenda.
Justification
In this regard, the NPP Communications Director said “there can therefore be no question that President Mahama’s agenda dominates all media in Ghana, and dwarfs that of all of his competitors combined.”
“So if President Mahama’s agenda is still not ‘reaching the ground’, it cannot be due to some media cabal thwarting his message”, he noted.
Instead, he indicated “President Mahama’s message of transformation is not resonating because it does not accord with the reality of the situation Ghanaians face today.”
He was therefore of the conviction that “despite whatever agenda is put forth by President Mahama, Ghanaians today are greatly appalled at the worsening unemployment, the vast loss in their purchasing power, the unbearable cost of living today, the bare faced corruption and wanton waste of tax payers’ monies.”
He was of the belief that the more President Mahama touts achievements and transformation, the more the real situation of the Ghanaian worsens and therefore stressed the need for him to fine tune his message and agenda to meet the real needs of Ghanaians today.
Free advise
It is only then that, according to Akomea “his message will resonate”, insisting that “the current blame on the press is not only misplaced but also shows that President Mahama is out of touch with the real situation facing the average Ghanaian today.”
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