In May 2017, former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo came under fire from President John Dramani Mahama for firing employees during the latter days of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government in 2016.

As the head of the opposition at the time, Mahama denounced Akufo-Addo's widespread firings, especially those of employees hired in the last days of the NDC government prior to the 2016 general elections.

Numerous employees appointed during the NDC's reign were let go by the newly elected New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration after it took office on January 7, 2017.

Between December 9, 2016, and January 7, 2017, the outgoing NDC government, according to the NPP, signed contracts without enough planning and participated in "last-minute" hiring into public institutions.

But during the transition, the NDC emphasized that Mahama had a mandate to lead until January 7, 2017, and that governance should not stop.

After the mass dismissals at the time, Mahama resorted to social media to criticize the acts of the NPP government in a series of tweets.

One of his tweets stated, "Resembling all Ghanaians, these workers are citizens with rights that must be upheld."

"A poor example for our administration. It is inappropriate for the NPP government to fire employees in large numbers, according to another tweet.

But after winning the presidency again after the general elections in 2024, Mahama has done the same thing, firing all of the last-minute hires made by the former NPP administration.

On February 10, 2025, the president sent a letter to all heads of government agencies directing that all such hirings and appointments be cancelled.

"I want to draw your attention to the fact that all appointments and recruitments made in the Public Services of Ghana after December 7, 2024, do not adhere to established good governance practices and principles, in accordance with government procurement regulations regarding end-of-tenure appointments and recruitments.

In light of this, the letter said, "all heads of government institutions are hereby requested to take the necessary steps to annul any such appointments or recruitments and submit to this Office a comprehensive report on the actions taken by February 11, 2025."

In response to this decision, Mahama's previous remarks denouncing the Akufo-Addo administration for similar terminations have reappeared on social media.

His previous tweets have been circulated by numerous individuals who have accused him of using unfair standards.

https://x.com/JDMahama/status/868183170524512257

https://x.com/JDMahama/status/868183288850116608