The office of immediate former President John Dramani Mahama has debunked claims that it has an agreement with Africa Watch a widely read magazine to publish detrimental reportage about the Free SHS policy.

The statement has sighted two state funded newspapers specifically, Daily Guide and Statesman as publishing in their columns that the former President has a contract with the renowned magazine.

It further stated that the claims which were attributed to the Ministry of Education has been reported by some online news portals.

The office has accused the online news agencies that reported the claims as been sponsored by the government to defame the Former President.

The statement outlined that;

Neither President Mahama nor his office has interest in or working relationship with the AfricaWatch Magazine.

We have not seen or been offered an advance copy of the said publication to know what they have even written about the government's Free SHS Policy.

The claims by the two government sponsored tabloids and the alleged Ministry of Education statement are nothing but part of the usual set of lies conveniently being told to sway the attention and interest of the Ghanaian people from the dangerous developments of corruption, insecurity, hardships and poor governance by President Akufo-Addo.

President Mahama holds enviable record as a Ghanaian leader who has done more to broaden the frontiers of SHS education than many before him. He began with the implementation of the Progressively Free SHS, implemented the Secondary Education Improvement Policy (SEIP), built Community Day Senior High Schools- the largest addition to our school stock since independence, expanded infrastructure in hundreds of existing Senior High Schools among other interventions.

Like most Ghanaians, Mahama is deeply concerned about the horrible conditions under which SHS students are living and studying, out of which deaths have been recorded.

The former President's suggestion and advice to Government has been a call for a National Stakeholders Dialogue to a chart and befitting way forward.

President Akufo- Addo should heed that call, instead of orchestrating attacks based on lies and pedestrian propaganda.

Moreover, the office of the former President called on the media to be cautious of its reportage on falsehood which is denting the image of the Ghanaian media and characterising it as unprofessional and partisan. The statement further urged the citizens of the country to continue to demand from the Government an improvement in its poor governance.