Ecomini, Lante Vanderpuye, GH¢800 cement – Four times presidents misspoke

Public speaking is a main trait for every politician because of the need to effectively pass on one’s message to their audiences and if need be charge up crowds during campaigns.

Political figures have often ended up slipping at one time or the other during their public deliveries.

The latest to fall into a verbal slip is former president John Dramani Mahama who is being mocked after mistaking the price of a bag of cement for a bag of fertilizer.

Mahama trends over price of cement

While addressing issues regarding the current economic condition in Ghana, John Mahama sought to give an example of the current price of a cement bag in Ghana but appeared to have mixed up the prices.

“Today things are expensive. If you are a farmer, today, a bag of cement is GH¢800,” Mr. Mahama said, to which members of the crowd murmured the actual price.

“GH¢100!,” many said when he asked, “how much,”, seeking for clarification.

A video of this has since been trending on social media with many reacting.

What former President John Dramani Mahama said in Kpandai about a bag of cement now being sold at GH¢800 making it impossible for farmers to purchase and the reactions on social media pic.twitter.com/plRKoL4rtr

— GraphicOnline (@Graphicgh) May 8, 2023

Akufo-Addo’s Nii Lante Vanderpuye gaffe:

Akufo-Addo during the 2020 campaign while introducing the NPP’s parliamentary aspirant in the Odododiodoo constituency mistakenly mentioned the name of his opponent.

“In Odododiodio, if you are voting for me, then you are also voting for Nii Lante Vanderpuye”, the president said as he held the hand of Nii Lante Bannerman.

“I didn’t speak well at all. I have a made mistake. What am I going to do with Nii Lante Vanderpuye. I meant Nii Lante Bannerman and I want you all to vote him”, Nana Akufo-Addo said when his attention was drawn to the fact that he mentioned the name of this opponent.

Atta Mills’ ecomini gaffe in 2009

During his first state of the nation address, Professor Mills made all parliamentarians laugh out loud. While delivering his address, the president pronounced the word ‘economy’ as ‘ecomini’. This threw the entire house into wild laughter.

“Madam speaker. Madam speaker, our ecomini is resilient…”.

Some people used that to call him and a musician composed a song out of it.

Kufuor’s FIFA mispronouncement

President Kufuor during one of his State of the Nation addresses was on record to have mispornounced the word FIFA, mentioning it as “FIVE-FA” on multiple times during his address.