My 'small boys' are 40 years+ - Mahama replies critics

Ex-President John Dramani Mahama has dismissed accusations he surrounded himself with babies with sharp teeth, who had no experience in governance during his tenure.

He refuted the claims, stressing that all his appointees were 40 years and above and so cannot fall under the category of "young people".

The former President was utterly displeased with such notion of Ghanaians and some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) who claim the so-called young people were part of the reasons the party lost the 2016 elections.

"Some say young people surrounded so-so and so. I mean just say I don't like the people, not that they're young because all those people you're referring to are above 40 years. How you can call a 40-year old man with a wife and children a young man surrounding the President. I cannot understand", he stated.

Mr. Mahama made this known during his interaction with former Ministerial appointees and Presidential Staffers on Tuesday, March 28, in Accra.

Speaking on the defeat of the NDC, he asked the party leadership, members and supporters to stop blaming their loss on his appointees.

"Our party has always given opportunity to young people. That is what we are. And so if we lose, we cannot blame young people for our loss. And the point is that the demographic of Ghana is shifting in favour of young people - 35 and below - 60% of our population. So, if you want to appoint appointees, where are you going to get them from? And you need those young people to gain experience to become what you consider the older and experienced people. And so, I think we should stop chasing the wind. This is the time to stand together".


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