Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide Newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, has raised concerns about the advisability of former President John Dramani Mahama’s pledge to revert the names of certain public universities renamed during the Akufo-Addo administration.
During the February 7, 2024, edition of Kokrokoo on Peace FM, Baako expressed skepticism about the quality of advice influencing Mahama’s campaign promises, cautioning that such commitments might lead to negative consequences.
“It might even be suicidal for you the person advocating such a thing in terms of the area, what they are perceived as. So, maybe there isn’t quality advice going into some of these campaign promises,” he stated.
“It can impact on election outcomes. This is not an issue you put on the front burner and charge people’s emotions on. It could easily backfire,” he stated.
He stressed that ill-considered promises could significantly impact the electoral prospects of the opposition leader, prompting his inquiry into the quality of advice and careful consideration given to such assurances.
“And so we will restore the original names, and the names that they have given them, will be given to a significant infrastructure in the Universities.
“We will add other people and name the infrastructure in the Universities after them. But if the University is University for Development Studies, that is its core mandate. It will be called the University for Development Studies,” he stated.
Recently, John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), announced his party’s intention to restore the original names of public universities if the NDC assumes office in 2025. Mahama accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of simply renaming universities constructed by the NDC and emphasized the alleged absence of new universities established during the NPP’s tenure.