The presidential candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the December 7 polls, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has condemned what he calls dirty politics of tribalism and ethnicity consistently waged by President John Mahama in his campaign in the North of the country.
Nana Akufo-Addo entreated President Mahama to eschew ethnic politics and tell Ghanaians what the NDC administration has been able to do for the people of the North in the last eight years in office.
Barely 16 days to this year’s crucial general election, President Mahama is reported to be engaging in ethnic politics in the northern part of the country to get votes.
“I pity Northerners who are calling for change,” President Mahama, a northerner, told residents of Lawra in the Upper West Region when toured the area as part of his campaign for a renewed mandate.
He reportedly called on Northerners not to vote for Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP, because they hate people from the north, adding “they will use you and dump you.”
But addressing a rally at Akim Oda in the Eastern Region as part of his campaign tour, the NPP presidential candidate described President Mahama’s statements as unfortunate.
Nana Akufo-Addo said these are ethnocentric comments by a President who has no plans of presiding over a unified country, and he is willing to say and do anything to win an election.
“With the signs clearly spelt on the wall that he (President Mahama) has lost the Presidency, he has begun using divisive language in his campaign. He is in the North telling the people that because he is from the North, the people should vote for him. This is sad.
“It is sad and shocking that our President will prefer not to use language that brings people together, but is rather using language that will divide us. I will not come before you and tell you to vote for me because I am from the Eastern Region or from Okyeman. I will never do that. The policies I have outlined over the course of my campaign should be the basis of your voting for me,” Nana Akufo-Addo stated.
According to him, President Mahama is embarking on a divisive and tribal-based campaign because of his inability to defend his 8-year record in office and has no campaign message to the people of the North.
Nana Akufo-Addo pointed out that, the Mahama administration has disappointed the people of the North, as evidenced in the scandals that have rocked the Savannah Acceleration Development Authority (SADA).
“You (President Mahama) say you are from the North, and you are asking people to vote for you on that basis. However, it is under your tenure of office that the people of the North have been further impoverished. The levels of poverty in the North are truly unprecedented. Monies from SADA have been squandered, monies which were to be used to develop the North have vanished,” he said.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)