John Dramani Mahama, the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has addressed recent criticisms regarding his campaign’s interaction with the chiefs of Dromankese.
Some local chiefs had expressed their displeasure, accusing Mahama’s campaign of disrespect during his recent visit to the Bono East Region.
In a social media video, the chiefs were seen expressing their grievances, with some even resorting to curses.
Mahama responded by clarifying that his team had communicated the change in plans in advance to avoid any misunderstandings.
He explained that an advance team had notified the chiefs that, due to scheduling delays, Mahama would not be able to visit the palace as initially planned.
Instead, the campaign suggested that the chiefs join him at the rally grounds.
“An advanced team had gone because we knew that looking at that day’s program, we were going to get there late. And we didn’t want the situation where chiefs will sit and you’ll come late and they tell you, you did not respect them because we came late. And so the day before we had sent to tell the chiefs that we would not be visiting the palace but said that if they were willing, they should come and join us at the rally grounds.
“And so when we got to Dromankese, there was nothing like going to the palace. It was just going straight to the rally grounds so I was surprised to see a chief invoking curses against us at that place,” Mr. Mahama said on the matter.
Mahama was taken aback by the negative reaction, especially since the chief of the area later admitted that the outburst was a mistake.
Mahama referred to the situation as an “occupational hazard” and assured that his campaign is committed to respecting and including traditional leaders in their activities whenever feasible.
“I just want to tell our chiefs that we respect them and as much as possible, we will incorporate them into our program. Where it is possible to visit them in their palaces we will do so,” the former president assured.
“But do not want to inconvenience them late in the night when we know our programs are running late,” he added.
He emphasized the importance of avoiding any inconvenience to the chiefs, particularly when schedules run late.