Former President John Mahama has said fielding any other aspirant apart from him as flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress against the governing New Patriotic Party in the 2024 polls, will be “risky”.

According to him, his name alone strikes fear in the NPP, thus, their preference for a fresh face as the flag bearer of the biggest opposition party.

Speaking to party delegates in Somanya in the Eastern Region, where he is on a 3-day tour, Mr Mahama said: “I wouldn’t have contested if I were sure that my contenders for the NDC presidential slot could stand against the NPP and win the 2024 general elections, but we cannot take the risk”.

“The only person the NPP fears amongst NDC members is me, John Dramani Mahama”, he said.

“They are unable to sleep when they hear my name”, he noted, adding: “That’s why they have been calling for a fresh person”.

“Are you the ones to tell us what we should do? It’s none of your business. I believe God has given us the power already,” he said.

Earlier in the Akuapem North and South constituencies in the same region, Mr Mahama said God has told him he will the 2024 presidential election with the National Democratic Congress.

In what appeared to be a veiled response to Abetifi MP Bryan Acheampong, who recently told supporters of the New Patriotic Party at Mpraeso, also in the Eastern Region on Saturday, 8 April 2023 that the governing party will not hand over power to the NDC, Mr Mahama said: “Don’t pay attention to some of the things being said by some people because it is God’s plan”.

“I go to church and I have faith that when I kneel and pray, God speaks to me, sometimes”, he said.

“God told me that it is our time and He has already given us the power”, Mr Mahama added.

“When God speaks, no one can change it, so, let’s continue to pray and believe in Ghanaians that whatever God has put in place will come to pass.”

'We’ll make sure NPP remains in power at all cost; we’ll never hand over power to NDC' – Bryan Acheampong

Mr Acheampong, who is the minister of agriculture, said the governing NPP will never hand over power to the NDC in the 2024 polls, adding the incumbent party will do everything at all cost to hold on to power.

The former minister of state in charge of national security, told party supporters after a health march at Mpraeso: “NDC party will collapse”.

“If the NDC dares to use threats, violence and foolishness in the 2024 election we will let them know we have the men”, he threatened, stressing: “We will show them that we have the men. We have the men”.

Mr Bryan Acheampong then noted: “It will never happen that we the NPP will stand on a platform to hand over power to the NDC”.

“It will never happen! We will make sure NPP remains in government at all cost”.

In his view, the government is fixing the economy, which will inure to the NPP’s electoral fortunes.

“Now with the way things are changing the economy will bounce back again, I am telling you that we are going to come around that curve and we are going to win the 2024 elections hands down.”

At the same event, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia taunted former President John Mahama, saying his only claim to fame are dumsor and guinea fowls under the Savanna Development Authority (SADA) project, flying away to neighbouring Burkina Faso.

According to him, unlike the Akufo-Addo administration, Mr Mahama cannot boast of one transformational achievement in his several decades of politics.

“Do you know that John Mahama has been in politics his entire adult life; over 30 years?” he told the crowd, adding: “He has been an assemblyman, deputy minister to minister then Vice President and then President”.

“But can you mention a single transformational policy that he has implemented?” he asked.

“Just mention one, but there is none. Only Dumsor and guinea fowls; that’s all, but with the NPP, we have mobile money interoperability, one district-one factory, digital address, Free SHS, zongo constituency fund; there is so much we have done.”

Also, Dr Bawumia said the National Democratic Congress (NDC), under President John Mahama, only created unemployment while in office but the Akufo-Addo administration has created 2.1 million jobs so far.

“During the NDC administration, there were no jobs; they created unemployment instead of employment but these days there are jobs everywhere”.

“I have been looking at the data lately and we have created 2.1 million jobs”.

He said 975, 000 of those jobs are in the private sector while 1.2 million are in the public sector.

“This is verifiable and identifiable data which is available”, Dr Bawumia noted.

Dr Bawumia told the crowd: “We are not done yet because there are more jobs for us to create”.

“But when it comes to job creation, no government since independence has created more jobs than the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo”, daring: “Anybody can challenge me and I will provide the data”.

“But we want to do more; we want to get to the Promised Land. We can be a Dubai, we can be a South Korea, we can be a Singapore’ it is possible”, he noted.

Speaking to the crowd, too, the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Justin Frimpong Kodua, said the government will fix the ravaged economy by the end of the year.

“Akufo-Addo has stated that the NPP has the men to turn the economy around. We are confident that by the end of the year, the economy will be in good shape. We just need your support because the alternative is worse, it is empty and hopeless”.