Nana Addo and Mahama
President John Mahama has served notice he is waiting on Nana Akufo-Addo to take up his challenge for a debate in the lead up to the December 7 elections.
Speaking on Volta Star Radio Thursday, Mahama noted “Ghanaians deserve a debate” so the issues being raised by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) against his government can be put into the right context.
The National Democratic Congress flagbearer said he is ever ready anytime to face off with his main rival Nana Addo ahead of the polls.
“I believe that Ghanaians deserve a debate between myself and Nana Akufo-Addo and I hope that they will respond and rise to the occasion,” Mahama, who is seeking a second term, opined.
He added: “If we have a one-on-one debate, we will all have our figures and Ghanaians will be able to see who is telling the truth… when I threw the first challenge, I threw it because a lot of misinformation was being thrown all over the place and Nana Akufo-Addo and his running mate continue to misinform the Ghanaian public and that is why I said let us have a one-on-one debate.
“If we have a one-on-one debate, we will all have our statistics and our figures and Ghanaians will be able to see who is telling the truth and who is not telling the truth and who is not telling it.
“They say the economy is in crisis. If we have a debate, you will show why you think the economy is in crisis. The documents are all there. The statistics are there.”
According to him, a debate is inevitable for “the people of the country [to] get to know their candidates better and be able to make a sound judgment on who they want to continue to lead them so yes I stand by the challenge I threw.”
There are speculations Mahama is not willing to partake in the IEA debate following his decision to withdraw from the IEA Evening Encounters that precede the presidential debate. The NPP flagbearer has also kept postponing his appearance at the Evening encounters even after other presidential candidates have already appeared.
The NPP is yet to officially respond to Mahama’s new challenge.
Source: Ghana/starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Kent Mensah
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