Vice President and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has accused former President John Mahama of deliberately avoiding a presidential debate ahead of the December elections, suggesting that Mr. Mahama fears having his record scrutinized in a public forum.
Dr. Bawumia, who is set to face Mahama as one of the main contenders in the upcoming elections, issued an open challenge for a debate, which the former President has so far declined.
Addressing a gathering of NPP supporters in Dansoman, Accra, on Monday evening [August 26], Dr. Bawumia reiterated his belief that Mahama’s reluctance to participate in a debate stems from an awareness of his shortcomings during his tenure as President.
“The former President knows he cannot compete because, in every sector of the economy, the records show that we have performed far better than him,” Dr. Bawumia asserted, energizing the crowd.
“That’s why I challenged him. If he believes he performed better in any sector, he should come for an open debate. But he is afraid, so he is running away from it.”
Dr. Bawumia further claimed that Mahama’s refusal to engage in a debate is a tactic to avoid exposing his “bad record” to the electorate.
“He won’t come for the debate because he knows his bad record will be exposed. If he comes for the debate, I will show him something,” he added, prompting cheers from his supporters.
The Vice President did not hold back in criticizing Mahama’s presidency, reminding the audience of key issues during his time in office.
He highlighted the four years of severe power outages, known locally as “dumsor,” which plagued the nation under Mahama’s leadership.
He also criticized Mahama for his administration’s failure to provide essential resources like chalk to schools, his opposition to the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, and his decision to cancel teacher and nursing trainee allowances.
“We have not forgotten all these bad records. We are moving forward. We are making progress with digitalisation. As President, he couldn’t provide chalk to schools, but we have provided laptops to senior high students,” Dr. Bawumia noted. “This is the progress the country has made, and we want to move forward and make it even better.”