The final phase of his ‘Changing Lives, Transforming Ghana’ rally held in Ho in the Volta Region last week was turned into laughing fanfare when President John Dramani Mahama teasingly referred to the 2016 flag bearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as “Opana”.
In what was believed to be a mockery of Nana Akufo-Addo’s abysmal handling of crisis that has hit the biggest opposition party and which continue to shred it apart, the president, in his usual humorous antics, said happenings in NPP has become so far confusing that he does not know who is even the party’s National Chairman.
The Nana Akufo-Addo-led NPP has been busily engaged in an unending internal power play over who is the National Chairman of the party following purported suspension of its national chairman, Paul Afoko.
But, Paul Afoko insists he is still the substantive chairman of the party although his deputy, Freddie Blay has been appointed to act the by Akufo-Addo controlling National Executive Committee and National Council. Speaking to a teeming crowd in the Volta region last week, President Mahama said he finds it difficult to respond to a press conference held by the NPP, implicitly; at the behest of Nana Akufo-Addo because he is confused as to who is the chairman of the largest opposition party now.
“On the day that Opana (Akufo-Addo) was doing his press conference to respond to me, somebody too was doing a press conference accusing him and saying he is going to court,” Mahama stated.
While many thought the President was referring to Freddie Blay when he used the word “Opana”, a source close to President John Mahama disclosed to The aL-hAJJ later that he indeed, was taunting his main political rival, Nana Akufo-Addo, who it is believed instigated the press conference addressed by Blay to respond to the president.
The president advised the NPP flag bearer to concentrate on solving the division in his party rather than busy himself organizing press conferences to respond to whatever he says.
“This man said I’m acting chairman of the party and this one said I’m chairman of the party so I thought Opana (Akufo-Addo) will rather pay attention to the competence of uniting his party than addressing press conferences at me. So, one mark of competence in leadership is to manage people. Right now I don’t even know who to address. So who is the chairman?” the president laughed out.
In an apparent reaction to Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP continued refrain of he (Mahama) being incompetent, President Mahama had this to tell them, “One mark of competent leadership is to manage people and unite people.”
And to buttress the point that the ‘Opana’ he is referring to was indeed, Nana Akufo Addo, the NPP 2016 flag bear and not Freddy Blay as it has been widely thought, the President stated: “I’ve had my say, and don’t intend to respond to that press conference… “I said in Accra that when a hunter (he President Mahama) heads to the bush (contest) to go and shoot an elephant (NPP Flag bearer), he doesn’t make time to stand and shoot at any rabbit (acting chairman Blay) that passes along. The press conference is a rabbit press conference. I won’t have time for rabbits because I am going to shoot an elephant (Nana),” John Mahama explained
The President has also been taunting Nana Akufo-Addo’s recently ended nationwide tour dubbed “Rise and Build”
In the heat of the NPP MPs effusions about his comments on the confusion in the party, President Mahama again posted on his facebook wall:
“Some say they want wake up and build. Well, we are building already? We are building new roads and improving old ones. We are building Ghana’s IT infrastructure, we are building the telecommunication infrastructure. Our mission is far from being completed. There is still a tremendous amount of work to be done.
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