Mahama should be blamed for NDC’s 2016 defeat - MP

Member of Parliament for the Fanteakwa South Constituency in the Eastern Region, Hon. Kofi Okyere Agyekum has said that Former President John Dramani Mahama is the best person to be blamed for the NDC's loss to the NPP in the 2016 elections as some party leaders have already pointed out.

“Who else is to be blamed when the general performance of the government was bad, insults here and there, arrogance, poor leadership, incompetence and corruption were all hovering around his government?” he asked.

Earlier in an interview with Citi News, the NDC Member of Parliament for Yunyoo in the Northern Region, Joseph Bipoba Naabu blamed former President Mahama for the Party’s 2016 electoral defeat.

According to him, the former President surrounded himself with inexperienced people who only misled him causing electorates to vote against him out of anger.

“He allowed those working around him like Omane Boamah, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, Baba Jamal and other presidential staffers like Stan Dogbe to influence him. These small boys who have not even rented a room by themselves, have not been able to buy a car, had this opportunity and they were just talking carelessly, insulting people and he was listening to them. Could you believe that someone like Bagbin went to him [Mahama] to meet him and people like Stan Dogbe gave instructions that he cannot see him,” the Yunyoo MP said.

Hon. Okyere Agyekum further said, “It is the core responsibility of a president to check around him the kind of people he works with because he chose them himself and not even the leaders of the party did that for him. Frankly, looking around former President Mahama’s communicators and other key personalities who helped him on his daily dealings, you will bear with me that none of them were equipped enough to occupy such a position of which he should have been aware and act accordingly to save his party and fame.”

Speaking on UTV’s ‘Adekye Nsroma’ political segment, he noted that members of the NDC are very aware of the consequences that led to their loss to the NPP, yet they are beating about the bush just because they have refused to face facts.

“The NDC needs to get a fresh candidate than wanting to throw a challenge of maintaining former President Mahama as their 2020 elections candidate . . . ” he stressed.