Former president John Dramani Mahama has reacted to a recent claim by an appointee of president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, that he (Mahama) wants to come to power to spend eight years despite having served four in his first term.

The claim was made by Chief Executive Officer of the Public Sector Reforms secretariat, Thomas Kusi Boafo.

Kusi Boafo in an interview earlier this week alleged that Mahama was planning to modify Ghana's constitution if he wins the 2024 general elections in order to extend his tenure in office.

In his response posted on Twitter (March 17), Mahama schooled Kusi Boafo about how a president can possibly amend an entrenched clause in the Constitution.

"Amazing! He does not know there must be a referendum in which at least 40% of eligible voters must participate and 75% must vote in favour of the question before Parliament can pass an ammendment of an entrenched clause of our Constitution. No wonder!" the former president's tweet read.

What Kusi Boafo said

To back his claims, Kusi Boafo said Mahama was ready to corrupt Members of Parliament to back his proposal to remain in power if he wins the 2024 elections.

Speaking in an interview with Wontumi TV, On March 15, 2023, Kusi Boafo said: “John Dramani Mahama wants to stage a quasi-coup. He’s staging a quasi-coup…he has called some people and told them that he wants to do a constitutional arrangement, hoping that the NPP will not accept it and definitely a lot of NPP people will say no.

“This is what he wants to do, he’s preparing a proposal document for change in the constitution system so that he can run for eight years."

John Mahama, a political thoroughbred

Mahama’s political roots date as far back to the days of Ghana’s independence when his father served in the Nkrumah government.

He is reputed to be one of the most thoroughbred politicians of the Fourth Republic having served from the local level (Assembly) through to becoming a Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi on the ticket of the NDC.

Mahama held deputy minister and ministerial portfolios under the Rawlings government before rising to become vice president under John Mills and president when he took over from Mills then won his first full term in 2012.

He is widely expected to be elected NDC flagbearer in a race against three other contenders ahead of the 2024 polls as he seeks a final term in office on the back of two straight defeats to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2016 and 2020.

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Meanwhile, catch up on the concluding part of Francis Addai-Nimoh's interview on GhanaWeb TV below: