President John Mahama’s tribal comments while at Upper West Region, has continued to draw more criticisms against him. has called on President John Mahama to render a public apology for the tribal comments he made concerning the running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
Read: What Mahama Said About NPP at Lawra in Upper West
While campaigning at Lawra, in the Upper West Region; Mahama during his address, implied that the NPP is anti-northerners and that the party will never allow any of her members who is a northerner, progress in his political ambition. Making particular reference to NPP’s running mate Dr. Bawumia, Mahama said that the NPP will never allow him contest for Presidency, because the party is largely against northerners.
But the MFWA has released a statement in which they condemned the presidents comments, describing it as ‘divisive and unfortunate’. In the statement, the Foundation called upon politicians to avoid the use of “hate speech, ethnocentric and divisive comments in their political campaigns”. They therefore demand that he publicly apologises to Bawumia over the incident.
Meanwhile, the flagbearer of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo have already condemned Mahama’s tribal comments, warning him to desist from tribal politics. Bawumia on his own part, has also reacted to it. He derided the comments, telling Mahama that he is not even the calibre of leader Northerners are yearning for.
Read the full statement of the MFWA below:
Over the weekend, while campaigning in the Upper West Region, the President of Ghana and leader of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), His Excellency John Dramani Mahama opted to use very ethnocentric and divisive campaign language.
The President, while addressing party supporters in Lawra as part of his campaign tour of the Region, made comments to suggest that the New Patroitic Party (NPP) only “uses northerners” to win power and “dump” them afterwards.
The President alleged that if vice-presidential candidate of the NPP Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia decides to contest as presidential candidate in the NPP, he is likely to be rejected by the party.
He then went on to cite the NPP presidential race in 2008 in which 16 other candidates contested the then vice-president of the erstwhile President Kuffour administration, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, for the Presidential candidacy of the party.
President Mahama also alleged that unlike the NPP, the NDC gives everyone the chance to ascend to the high office including northerners and it is that opportunity in the NDC that has made it possible for him to become president after the demise of the late President, John Evans Atta Mills.
The MFWA considers the comments of President Mahama highly divisive and unfortunate and condemns same in no uncertain terms. As a leader of the country, President Mahama is expected to act in ways that will unite rather than divide the people of this country.
The MFWA therefore calls on the President to publicly apologise for his comments. We take this opportunity to urge other political figures to avoid the use of hate speech, ethnocentric and divisive comments in their political campaigns.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
