A former Greater Accra regional minister under the Rawlings regime, Prof. Joshua Alabi, has called on Ghanaians to give President John Dramani Mahama a second chance come November 7, 2016.

Ghana goes to the polls in November to elect a new president and parliamentarians as Mahama squares off with his main contender Nana Akufo-Addo for the second time.

Prof. Alabi, who is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), believes Ghana stands to gain a lot under Mahama in the next four years.

“I have known Mahama from childhood. We lived around the same vicinity in Tamale. He is a humble guy,” Prof. Alabi said on Starr Chat with Bola Ray.

“He is doing well and should be given a second chance,” the former Minister of State for the Northern region noted. “He is one president who has gone through a lot of demonstrations and he has been able to maintain his calm.”

“I strongly believe that given the next term, he will move Ghana to a different level. That is my belief. I’m saying this not because I’m lazy, but I just admire him for the way he’s been able to hold himself up.

"A lot of people will have been off with the numerous problems that he faced – the problem [election petition] in court for about eight months, single spine problems – and these are problems, which were not caused by him, but then once you are the president, you are in charge… he is really focused,” he noted.

Prof. Alabi was born on 1st March, 1958. He is currently the Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies (UPSA). He is an Economist by training and a Marketer by Profession. He is an Associate Professor in Marketing and a graduate of two prestigious Institutions - MSc. in Industrial Economics, 1986 from Moscow Institute of National Economy and an MSc. in International Marketing from the Strachylide University (1992) where he graduated and won the Mashod Abiola Prize in Marketing.

He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Ghana and a Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Taxation.