During a recent campaign stop by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the Western-North Region, a member of the Sefwi Traditional Council voiced support for Bawumia’s presidential bid, contrasting it with former President John Dramani Mahama‘s previous term.
The council member highlighted Mahama’s perceived failures during his presidency, likening it to a caretaker who neglected a cocoa farm, resulting in its decline.
“I am speaking for all of us here. Let’s say I have a cocoa farm which I entrusted to a caretaker. This caretaker allowed the cocoa to be affected by swollen shoot and other viruses, for which I sacked him.
“He has gone and returned, seeing that the cocoa is doing better, and is asking me to hand it over to him again. Would you hand it over to him?” the chief submitted during a question-and-answer session at a meeting with traditional leaders.
He urged against handing over leadership to Mahama again, citing his prior performance as a reason for skepticism.
“We won’t hand it back to him to destroy the cocoa farm again. This is about former President John Mahama, who has been president before. The issue would be different if he had never been president; we would consider giving him a chance, but he has been there before. We saw what he did, and as Ghanaians, we didn’t like it, which is why we voted him out. Today, he has returned and is asking that we vote him back.
“I am pleading that we all keep this in mind and use it to campaign against him,” he told the gathering.
The chief rallied other traditional leaders to actively campaign for Bawumia, emphasizing the need for a leader who has yet to prove himself as president, unlike Mahama.
This endorsement comes as Bawumia officially begins his campaign for the upcoming 2024 general election, where he is expected to face off against contenders like Mahama, who has secured the nomination as the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress.