Akufo Addo Finally Agrees to ‘Battle’ Mahama On Debate Ground

The persistent call on President Akufo Addo by the former President John Mahama seems to have been taken into consideration as a press statement purportedly coming from the Jubilee House confirmed that President Akufo Addo has accepted the challenge of ex-President Mahama for a debate on achievements of their administrations, particularly in infrastructure.
In a letter bearing the signature of Eugene Arhin, the Director of Communications at the Jubilee House states:

“Having critically examined the public debate in relations to calls by the former president John Mahama for the President of the Republic, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to engage in an infrastructure debate, we wish to assure the general public that the President will honour that invitation in the interest of the political discourse.”

It continues: “The President through the New Patriotic Party carries a superior record in the area of infrastructure. The over 18,000 projects and programs published on the delivery tracker… give a clear indication of the dedicated service of the government of President Akufo-Addo to the people of Ghana.”

 

Following revelations that many of the projects the Akufo Addo administration had touted in its Delivery Tracker were actually projects initiated by the Mahama administration, ex-President Mahama challenged the incumbent Akufo Addo to a debate on who has achieved more in their first four-year terms.

According to Mr. Mahama, he managed to achieve way more than Mr. Akufo Addo, despite the latter having access to financial resources triple what was available to him.

Other report says the Jubilee House initially brushed off the debate claiming it was a nuisance challenge. Indeed, Mr, Mahama had pressed on, saying President Akufo Addo is free to pick his venue and moderators for the debate.

Yet the Jubilee House turned down the offer. “We initially saw no need to engage in a debate with a man who has proven incompetent in all areas of governance…”

However, with the latest press statement, it has become apparent that the government has been pressured by the public.