The former Presidential Candidate of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Dr. Edward Nasigiri Mahama, has accused the leader and flagbearer of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, of lacking political integrity.
The former PNC leader says unlike him, who consistently resisted offers from both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to be part of their administration, he (Dr. Nduom) did not see anything wrong with joining the NPP, a party that torpedoed Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
According to Dr. Mahama, the PPP leader comes nowhere close to him when it comes to political integrity, stressing that he has kept his integrity and not allowed himself to be bought by any other party that does not believe in the Nkrumah ideology.
“He Nduom can never compare himself to me at all when it comes to integrity, because I have mine intact, but him, what did he do? Did he not join the NPP administration,” a angry Dr. Mahama blurted in an interview on HELLO FM.
The political Cold War that ensued between the two personalities in the run up to the 2008 elections following the botched attempt to merge the CPP and the PNC as one party, has since the beginning of the week been re-ignited after Dr. Mahama granted an interview to an Accra-based radio station, STARR FM, during which he accused Dr. Nduom of being responsible for the failure on the part of the two parties to merge.
The two parties had since 2008 engaged in a blame game and war of words over who was responsible for the breakdown of talks, which later saw Dr. Nduom severing ties to form his own party, now called PPP.
But just when Ghanaians thought hostilities were over between the two parties, especially after Dr. Nduom left and formed his own party, the former PNC leader, apparently in a wound licking mood, accused Nduom of stoking fire between the two political entities by choosing to breach confidentiality, after a secret meeting at Golden Tulip in 2008 to discuss merger talks.
“There were individuals within the CPP who didn’t want the unity and I would say it publicly…Nduom is one of them. In 2008 I actually volunteered and said -let’s put the presidential ticket for the Nkrumahist parties together, but he [Nduom] didn’t want it,” Dr. Mahama was quoted as having said during the interview on Monday.
His accusation, however, drew a sharp reaction from the office of the PPP leader, which launched a blistering attack on the medical doctor, whom they said rather torpedoed the Golden Tulip agreement to have the PNC leader partner Dr. Nduom as the running mate for the 2008 elections.
The PPP in a statement issued and signed by Special Aide to Dr. Nduom, Richmond Duke Keelson described Dr. Mahama as power-drunk and self serving individual, whose arrogance and lack of humility to partner Dr. Nduom as a running mate resulted in the collapse of talks.
“Dr. Mahama has conveniently forgotten how many times Dr. Nduom drove to his house and office to plead with him to bring PNC on board the unity train. Surely he cannot pretend to have forgotten the meeting engineered by Dr. Nduom at the Fiesta Royale hotel?” The statement by the PPP pointed out.
It further noted that Haruna Bayirga, Dr. Sulley Gariba, Alhaji Ramadan, Mike Eghan, Ladi Nylander, David Ampofo, Hajia Hamdatu and others, who met and agreed on an alliance between the CPP and the PNC could testify to the fact that an agreement was reached to make Dr. Nduom the alliance’s flagbearer and Dr. Mahama the running mate.
“When he lost the flagbearer position, it was Dr. Mahama and others who went and organized opposition to the same alliance they have agreed to. Such hypocrisy and here is a man who wants to be trusted as President of our Republic?”
But Dr. Mahama in a follow up interview yesterday doubted the credibility of his antagonist when he actually agreed to be part of the NPP administration.
“You journalist should ask Nduom when he joined the NPP and was made the Energy Minister, what did he do to solve our energy problems? If he does not know, as for me I have over the years stuck to my guns and not allowed myself to be influenced,” he insinuated.
Dr. Mahama also accused the PPP leader of using money to influence his selection to the position as the flagbearer of the CPP during a congress in Kumasi.
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