‘It was his non-core NDC members’ – Ahwoi reveals one Mahama mistake

Former President John Mahama’s downfall was the appointment of people who were not die-hard NDC persons into his inner circle, party stalwart Professor Kwamena Ahwoi has claimed.

Assessing the erstwhile Mahama administration, he commented:

“I think that the biggest mistake he made at the beginning of his Presidency was to surround himself with people who were not core NDC members”.

He would not mention names but listed positions such as Mr Mahama’s Special Advisor, Secretary and Secretary to the Cabinet, as some examples who did not fit the bill.

In his verdict, he said the situation created “a divorce between the government and the party; therefore, it was not easy for the party’s programme to be implemented”.

Instead, Professor Ahwoi pointed to “the programme of the bureaucracy that was being implemented” stagnating the policies of the NDC.

According to him, Mr Mahama detected his error, and later “brought in Julius Debrah as his Chief of Staff”.

Professor Ahwoi, who served as Minister for Local Government and Rural Development from 1990 to 2001 under the Rawlings regime, however, indicated that Mahama’s past would guide him to carve a better future.

After losing out to Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2016 election, Mr Mahama is seeking a return to the Jubilee House in 2020.

Professor Ahwoi noted that Mr Mahama “could have been a good president” in his previous tenure. He expressed confidence ,that the 2020 NDC flagbearer if elected “will be a good president from 2021”.

This was because he believes Mr Mahama “has learnt lessons from some of the mistakes he made during his presidency”, he said in an interview with Accra-based Joy FM, monitored by theghanareport.com

Mr Mahama has chosen former Education Minister Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and Professor Ahwoi has given the decision a thumbs up.

Even though he did not have Professor Opoku-Agyemang as one of his preferred candidates, he is optimistic that the “lady of steel” represents “a good ticket”.

The NDC bigwig said that “the moment she was announced; I accepted her because I know she is a very good material.”

“I will recommend [the ticket] to Ghanaians”.

He said the choice of Prof. Opoku-Agyemang had triggered “confusion in the governing party.”

“…this was the last thing they thought could happen,” the NDC kingmaker said.