By Godwill Arthur- Mensah
Accra, Sept. 16, GNA-The Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has criticised former President John Mahama for using indecent language and inciting the public against the ruling NPP government.
Dr Bawumia, while speaking at Nsakina in the Amasaman constituency of the Greater Accra Region on Monday, chastised Mr Mahama’s recent pronouncements.
Mr Mahama was alleged to have said that Pastors, Imams, Chiefs, and civil society organisations (CSOs) were hypocrites by keeping mute over the bad governance and critical issues in the country.
The former President, while campaigning in the Okaikwei North in the Greater Accra Region over the weekend, allegedly said if it were his government that had plunged the country into an “economic quagmire”, the Pastors, Imams and the CSOs would have found their voices to criticise him, but they were not doing same to the ruling NPP government.
Mr Mahama also alleged to have used “this foolish government” in describing the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-led Government, alluding that the Military would have staged a coup to oust his government if it were him.
It was against that backdrop, that Dr Bawumia, while responding to Mr Mahama’s tantrums, said a former President must be guided by his utterances and should not be engaging in “politics of insults and hate speech,” which could be detrimental to the country’s peace and harmony.
The NPP Flagbearer stated that Mr Mahama had realised he would lose miserably in the upcoming elections and had resorted to insults and the use of intemperate language.
Dr Bawumia, who spoke in Akan said: “Mahama has seen that he will lose miserably in the upcoming elections and so, he gets angry over a small matter. I have heard that he had insulted pastors…insulted Imams, insulted chiefs, insulted the Electoral Commission …Mahama said they were all hypocrites…
Have you heard this before? Is that how a former President should speak?…
There should be a standard of decency on how we speak as politicians…This election is not about insults but a contest of ideas…”
Dr Bawumia took a swipe at Mahama for lacking innovative ideas to govern the country, hence resorting to the “rough tactics” of insults and accusations.
Dr Bawumia challenged the former President to a debate….”If you don’t fear, come and debate me…am a man of data and I speak with data…”.
The NPP Flagbearer said his team had crafted policies to bring bold solutions to the country’s challenges and urged the electorate to give him the nod as the President in the December 7 Election.
He said the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-led Government had outperformed the Mahama-led NDC government in every sector of the economy and mentioned areas the ruling government had done better than the NDC government such as the road and the railway infrastructural development, health facilities, education and many more sectors.
GNA