Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the flagbearer for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has sharply rebuffed former President John Mahama’s recent inquiries regarding his tenure as Vice President.
Dr Bawumia challenged Mahama to engage in a direct debate rather than relying on what he called “flimsy questions.”
This response follows Mahama’s five-question challenge, reminiscent of the 170 questions he posed to then-Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur during the 2016 election campaign.
In his rebuttal, Bawumia stated that he would have thought he would be man enough to face him in a one-on-one debate for the Ghanaian public to assess their respective policies, achievements, and visions.
He says Mr Mahama should not hide behind these flimsy questions to avoid a debate.
Dr Bawumia further asserted that Mahama’s inquiries were trivial compared to the more significant issues he was prepared to discuss, offering a list of 50 questions aimed at Mahama’s record on the economy, infrastructure, and social policies.
He quipped, “Come for a debate, and I can ask the moderators to ask me these five flimsy questions,” while challenging Mahama on various topics including educational reforms and infrastructure development under the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In his detailed response, Dr Bawumia scrutinized Mahama’s governance record by questioning his stance on free education and highlighting past advertisements opposing the free Senior High School (SHS) policy.
He also addressed the energy crisis during Mahama’s administration, asking, “If you think your economic management was so good, how come we experienced more than four years of Dumsor under your government?”
Additionally, Dr Bawumia raised concerns about policy reversals such as the cancellation of teacher and nursing training allowances that have since been reinstated by the NPP.
He challenged Mr Mahama to identify any significant social intervention policies implemented during his tenure and questioned the management of the banking sector, stating, “Why did the banking system almost collapse under your government?”
