Following Ghana Integrity Initiative’s (GII) Monitoring report that accused the ruling National Democratic Congress of abuse of incumbency, the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has also described President John Dramani Mahama’s ‘Thank You Tour’ as an abuse of incumbency.

“This blatant attempt to cloak purely NDC campaign as a Thank You Tour for supposed roles in the funeral of late President Mills is purely an abuse of incumbency,” the party categorically stated.

A press release copied to Today yesterday and signed by the party’s National Secretary, Kofi Asamoah-Siaw, sought to know who was providing the fuel, the food, the donations being given to traditional authorities to come to durbars and masked political rallies.

The party further inquired: “Who is paying to bring the people conveyed on buses to these grounds to cheer Mahama,” and affirms that if it is the state, then “we demand a refund from the Mahama-NDC campaign…This is how cheating begins towards an election.”

It recalled the PPP’s earlier statement which accused the ruling party of abuse of incumbency with regards to the mounting of huge billboards of late President Mills and current President Mahama and demanded the identity of “who is paying for the giant billboards of Mills and Mahama? Is it the state or the NDC? If it is the state, why does it not have the photographs of Nduom, Akufo-Addo and other presidential candidates?”

While concluding that the party has cause to believe that President Mahama and the NDC have no intention to reverse this disturbing trend, the PPP pointed out that “Ghanaians are becoming wide awake and are discerning enough to be deceived by inferior propaganda.

“Mahama is not Mills,” the PPP stated adding: “Ethnic politics is dangerous to our democracy and so President Mahama must stop claiming to be the son of President Mills in [a bid] to win Fante votes.”

The statement said in the USA and other democracies that Ghana seeks to emulate, presidents and prime ministers are made, by law, to separate state functions from campaign activities and pay for using state resources purely campaign activities.

“This is the time to stop state-sponsored corruption,” the PPP affirmed.