Appointing 'stammerer' Omane Boamah as Communications Minister a big mistake – Bagbin

National Democratic Congress (NDC) flag bearer-hopeful, Alban Bagbin, has said the appointment of Dr Edward Omane Boamah as Minister of Communication cost the NDC the 2016 election because he could not communicate government’s message well due to his stuttering.

Speaking to delegates in the Volta Region, Mr. Bagbin said he believed although Dr Omane Boamah is an intelligent young man, his appointment was misplaced.

The lawmaker said: “I learnt from tradition that it is not the chief that speaks, it is the linguist and, so, when you are a leader, you must have a very good linguist.

“When Prof [Atta Mills] was in power, Haruna Iddrisu was our linguist in charge of communication, when my brother John [Mahama] came to power, he substituted him for Dr Omane Boamah who is a natural stammerer.

“He is a very intelligent boy, he is smart but when he is speaking, he wastes time in coming out and Ghanaians do not have that much patience, so, they are always looking for those that are rattling.

“So, even though you might have a good message, you will not succeed in marketing that message because somebody is there from the other side rattling and they are listening to him, so, we came down.



“You didn’t realise it, I studied governance and leadership up to the Master’s [level], so, I have some of these things at hand… They were some of these mistakes that cost us dearly.”

Mr Bagbin is positioning himself to be elected as the next flag bearer of the party.

He is contesting against former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Sylvester Mensah; Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbah, a former Trade and Industry Minister; former Vice-Chancellor of the University for Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Prof. Joshua Alabi; Cape Coast South MP, Kweku Ricketts-Hagan; private legal practitioner Elikplim Agbemava and handyman Stephen Atubiga.

Ex-president John Dramani Mahama is yet to declare his intention for a comeback.

The NDC has slated 7 December 2018, for the election of its flagbearer for the 2020 presidential election.