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Doctors at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) have described the medical condition of former Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama as critical, and he is currently on life support. The doctors and his family have however denied claims that swept through the country yesterday like a Tsunami that he had died, even though they conceded that he was in a critical condition now and unable to breathe by himself. This follows speculations on social media and some radio stations that Aliu Mahama, who is on admission at the Cardiothoracic Centre, had died. Media networks which placed the news on their website quickly removed them a few minutes later as the dramatic situation unfolded. Officials are tight-lipped about his condition, but sources told Daily Guide that the former Vice President was sent to the centre a week ago after suffering from an undisclosed heart related ailment. A medical official at the Cardio Centre, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told DAILY GUIDE that Aliu Mahama was suffering from a combination of ailments that made his situation complicated. According to the source, Aliu Mahama was also on a ventilator. When Daily Guide visited the Cardio Centre yesterday, family members, Samuel Kojo Crimping, aide to Aliu Mahama, and Professor Nii Otu Nartey, Chief Executive Officer of KBTH, were at the Intensive Care Unit of the centre to monitor the condition of the former Vice President. Professor Nartey said though Aliu Mahama was in a critical condition, doctors were trying to stabilize him. �Although the former Vice President has been on admission at KBTH for about a week now, his condition is critical and a team of doctors from various units of the hospital is working on him, and we are sure he would pull through from his current condition,� he said. Breathing Problems Additional reports gathered at press time indicated that his doctors were busily working around the clock to �stabilize� him so that he could be transferred abroad for medical treatment, the CEO of the hospital, Prof Nii Otu Nartey, told Joy News. He debunked various media reports suggesting that the former Vice President had passed away. �The former Vice President is still alive, and we are working very hard to make sure that we get over this difficult stage.� Though Prof. Otu Nartey maintained that the former Vice President was in a �critical condition,� he said a �team of doctors is working on him, we hope he will pull through.� The CEO, who would not talk about the kind of sickness he is being treated for, confirmed Alhaji Aliu Mahama �has [a] breathing problem� and was being taken care of to ensure that he was able to take over� thus breathing without the support of a machine. He said the hospital had been in contact with hospitals outside and was certain former Vice President Aliu Mahama could soon be flown to Germany or the UK for treatment. Prayers Meanwhile, his son, Farouk Aliu Mahama, has told Citi FM that his father was alive and in stable condition. �Whatever they are speculating is not the truth so all I can say is keep us in prayers. The man is alive and Allah will give him speedy recovery and he will join all Ghanaians to thank them for their support.� According to him, in Islam, it is a sign of long life when a person is pronounced dead �and we know that Allah is the one who gives and takes and with the prayers of all Ghanaians, Isha Allah, he is going to be fine.� Farouk Aliu Mahama, however, cautioned persons who were reporting that his father had passed away to �keep their falsehood to themselves and try to get factual facts before circulating information into the public�. Speculations Speculations on the medical condition of the former Vice President were sparked by President Mahama last month, while addressing Moslem worshippers during the Eid ul Adha festival at the Independence Square in Accra. President Mahama suddenly dropped the bombshell by telling the worshippers gathered at the square: �Let us spare some prayers for former Vice President Aliu Mahama who is always with us here but cannot be with us today because he is sick and at the hospital receiving treatment.� Unknown to President Mahama, the former Vice President was, on that very day, addressing Moslem worshippers in Tamale, showing no ill health. This high-level speculation drew the anger of Alhaji Aliu Mahama who spoke personally to several media outlets, saying President Mahama�s �unsolicited� concerns were baseless. He conceded though that he went for a medical check-up and doctors advised him to take a few days� rest. Eventually when he was admitted at the Korle Bu Hospital, President Mahama visited the ailing former Vice President. Trip Down Memory Lane It is recalled that earlier this year, when the demised President John Evans Atta Mills was still President, rumours emerged that the sitting president had kicked the bucket. It turned out that the speculations were mostly untrue at the time. Vice President Mahama received intense flak for the alleged speculation, forcing his office to respond by vehemently denying any knowledge of such a speculation. Eventually, on June 24, 2012, President Mills, indeed, died.