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Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has shut down calls from some sections of Ghanaians calling on President John Dramani Mahama to run for a third term.
According to Asiedu Nketiah, the NDC has no plan to present President John Mahama again for the 2028 election.
He emphasised that they have never run the NDC in ways that conflict with the 1992 constitution.
The NDC chairman boldly added that the party will stick by the tenets of the Constitution, which states that a president is only entitled to two terms.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Face to Face on Tuesday, August 26, Asiedu Nketia detailed, “We have never run our party in ways that conflict with the national constitution, and we don’t intend to do that,” he said. “We will stick by the tenets of the Constitution.”
Asiedu Nketia further called for calm, reiterating that whoever succeeds Mahama will ride on his achievements
“The party has not declared anything,” he noted. “I keep repeating my caution that we have to be very careful about the way we express our ambitions. Whoever succeeds President Mahama will ride on the achievements of the current government.”
He added, “If you conduct yourself in ways that will disrupt the activities of this government in ways that will make the government less successful, then you have a bigger problem,” he said. “President Mahama is only about eight months in office now, and you want to struggle to decide who will replace him—you know what it can cause.”
“If all of us decide today that, ‘Well, people say I can be president, so let me start organising,’ then everybody will be going across the country appointing campaign coordinators. How do you think that President Mahama can focus on achieving anything?”
It must be noted that NPP’s Justin Frimpong Kodua started the third term talks when he accused the NDC and John Mahama of plotting to remove Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Torkornoo to enable President John Dramani Mahama to contest for a third presidential term.
He claimed that the argument revolves around Article 66(2) of the Constitution.
Justin Frimpong Kodua noted that some individuals are allegedly planning to interpret Article 66(2) of the Constitution in a way that implies the two-term limit applies only to two successive terms.
Meanwhile, Kwesi Pratt Jr, a veteran journalist and managing editor of the Insight Newspaper, has urged President John Dramani Mahama to break his silence on calls from some sections of Ghanaians calling on him to run for a third term.
According to Kwesi Pratt Jr, he has known President Mahama for a very long time and knows he is not power-hungry, but his silence only encourages calls for a third term.
Kwesi Pratt emphasised that it is difficult to escape the cacophony of calls for the amendment of the 1992 Constitution to make it possible for President John Dramani Mahama to contest elections for a third term.
He revealed he is deeply worried by this development, as lessons from history only show that it leads to total disaster for everybody.
In a post on X, Kwesi Pratt wrote, “ It is difficult to escape the cacophony of calls for the amendment of the 1992 #Constitution to make it possible for President John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) to contest elections for a third term.
I am deeply worried by this development because I am keenly aware of the lessons of history which teach that this apparent orchestration can only lead to total disaster for everybody”.
He recounted, “General Kutu #Acheampong’s government was undoubtedly one of the best since independence.
It was fully committed to the national liberation struggle throughout Africa. It made Ghana self-sufficient in food production in its first few years. It built estate houses for workers everywhere. It generally improved the national infrastructure and was very popular until the dying years of the 1970s.
Acheampong’s popularity took a nose-dive when he sought to introduce the Union Government idea, and the general perception was that he wanted to extend his stay in power indefinitely”.
Kwesi Pratt added that the massive resistance and crucial state resources were diverted from production and put into useless charm projects, with the economy also suffering.
He added, “Acheampong became very unpopular and in the end, he and some of his associates paid a very high price with their lives.
We should not forget that #history has a way of repeating itself”.
The veteran Journalist also emphasised that it is extremely foolish for people to suggest that out of 35 million citizens of Ghana, only one person can be a good President.
He added, “The suggestion that out of 35 million citizens of Ghana, only one person can be a good President is extremely foolish and must not be encouraged.
I have known President #Mahama for a very long time, and I am convinced that he is not power-hungry, but his silence on this issue only encourages those who seek to misuse his popularity and apparent good work”.
Mr Pratt further encouraged Mahama to speak out against the agitation from very strange sources that want to make him the King of Ghana.