For possessing the “penchant for making partisan statements”, John Dramani Mahama has said President Akufo-Addo has breached the oath of office he took for saying he ignored constituents of Ekumfi for voting out the parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress, has referred the President to the 1992 constitution reminding him of his role of distributing the national cake to all manner of jurisdictions irrespective of their voting pattern.
In a post on X Thursday, January 18, 2024, the former president said such comments are becoming too many, citing his visit to the Volta region during the floods as an example.
“The President’s comment that he ignored the development of Ekumfi because they voted out his parliamentarian is most unfortunate. President Akufo-Addo has a penchant for making such partisan statements, as we witnessed recently during his visit to flood victims in Mepe. His actions contradict the oath he swore as President to do justice to all manner of persons,” John Mahama indicated in his post.
He reminded him that the laws of the land enjoins him to spread development evenly across the country.
“Let me also remind him of chapter six of our constitution, specifically Article 36 clause 2(d), which stipulates the need for governments to undertake “… even and balanced development of all regions and every part of each region of Ghana, and, in particular, improving the conditions of life in the rural areas, and generally, redressing any imbalance in development between the rural and the urban areas,” he posted.
The President's comment that he ignored the development of Ekumfi because they voted out his parliamentarian is most unfortunate. President Akufo-Addo has a penchant for making such partisan statements, as we witnessed recently during his visit to flood victims in Mepe. His…
— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) January 18, 2024
President Akufo-Addo had admitted that he looked away from the development challenges of Ekumfi because the constituents voted against the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) candidate, Francis Kingsley Ato Cudjoe.
According to the President, during his first term when Mr. Cudjoe was the Member of Parliament for Ekumfi, he made him a deputy minister and a substantive minister in order to channel some development projects to the constituency.
However, following Mr. Ato Cudjoe’s defeat in the 2020 elections, he (the President) ignored the needs of the constituency.
“I made Ato Cudjoe (an indigene of Ekumfi) a minister and a deputy minister so he could do something there for you. But unfortunately he lost his seat in the next election and it’s all part of the reasons I also ignored you for a while, I must be honest with the truth. But I’ve heard you and the year has just started so by the time the year ends, I’ll see what I can do,” President Akufo-Addo assured.
This was after the Kyedomhemaa of Ekumfi traditional area, Nana Enyimfua III, had asked the president to remember her people and give the youth something to survive on during a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House to show gratitude for renovating the Asomdwe Park for them.
