National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has said he rates President Akufo-Addo higher than Vice President Bawumia in terms of credibility.
General Mosquito, as he is known in the political space, has indicated that he believes the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has “messed up his credibility totally.”
Using a vivid metaphor to describe the situation, he said: “If you have a pig in mud, don’t go and be fighting that pig. It will draw you into the mud, and the two of you will mess yourselves up.
“And when somebody is coming out, he won’t know who is the pig and who is the human being. So don’t go in; allow him to swim in his own mud.”
The NDC National Chair’s comments come amid explanation of why he advised his flag bearer, John Dramani Mahama, not to debate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
For Asiedu Nketia, debating Dr. Bawumia will be a “completely worthless exercise” since the NDC’s principle is not to debate someone who lacks credibility.
“If you have watched me throughout my political life, there are two people I don’t debate. My guiding principles are two: Don’t debate an idiot and don’t debate a liar. So, any of these two who tempt me for any debate, I ignore them,” he said on Accra-based JoyNews Wednesday, August 14, 2024.
“I am not saying the two must fit one person, but when you look at the two categorisations, you see that he [Dr. Bawumia] is a liar. That is something nobody can contest. I’m not too sure whether he’s an idiot, but at least I’m sure he’s a liar,” he added.
He explained that as the reason for which he advised the former President not to debate the Vice President and flag bearer of the NPP.
“In my capacity as the National Chairman, I have made it very clear to our flag bearer that we are not going to engage in a debate with a liar,” he disclosed.
Dr. Bawumia, the NPP flag bearer, has challenged John Mahama to a live presidential debate, asserting that Mahama is “running away” from the opportunity.
“I am looking forward to a debate with John Mahama on the economy, on the country, on governance,” Bawumia had said.
But, the NDC Chairman has dismissed the challenge saying the Vice President has made several promises he couldn’t fulfill.
“It has been said by ancient sages that you should never debate a liar because they believe in their lies, so you can’t win a debate against a liar. So don’t waste your time going into it,” he responded.
He criticised Bawumia’s recent promises, including a proposal to provide mobile phones to every Ghanaian youth, calling it unrealistic.
“He’s assuming that all of us are fools. Calculate how long it will take to pay for one mobile phone. When you are born today and you buy a mobile phone, you will grow up and die when you haven’t finished payment. Is that the type of person you are going to engage with in a debate?” he questioned.
Asiedu Nketia also highlighted that, in his view, debating Bawumia would be futile because “80% of what he said in previous campaigns has not happened despite winning political power.”
“It tells you that he either assumes that Ghanaians are not intelligent, so you can just tell us anything and you can get away with it. We are not going to be part of that… he should go and debate his own records and what he has said in the past,” he added.
