Member of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Communication Team, Kwame Apenteng says former President Mahama is suffering a psychological blow after losing the 2020 elections, hence his uncouth statements in the press in recent times.
According to him, the former President’s mental state is in question because as an astute statesman, he is not known for encouraging violence.
He believes the former President’s now popular do or die comment is divisive and calls for violence. “This is not something we must hear from a statesman. Do or die is not a good statement to make no matter the context in which it was used,” he told Don Kwabena Prah on Happy98.9FM’s Epa Hoa Daben political talk show.
Kwame Apenteng believes the leadership of the NDC is in crisis and such comments are expected from a party in disarray “but it should not be accepted, we should condemn it.”
Driving home his appoint, he applauded the NDC’s Dr. Kwabena Duffour for responding to Mahama’s do or die comment. “I am glad Kwabena Duffour did that. I am glad he said this is the time for peace and cooperation, not for violence and divisiveness. Leadership is not about ego or even Election Day, but putting the health, prosperity, and safety of Ghanaians first every single day, all year round. Our children are hungry, our people are hurting, let’s not resort to conflict but come together for the betterment of all.”
To him Dr. Kwabena Duffour is one you will describe as a leader with the interest of his party at heart.
Background
Former President John Mahama is fighting off claims that his recent comments may be a prediction of violence in the next general elections.
During his election 2020 ‘Thank You’ tour, John Mahama reiterated this suspicion on Tuesday, September 7, that; “we were clearly robbed, but we accepted the verdict for the sake of peace.”
“But I want to state here that the next elections would be won or lost at the polling station. So at the polling station, it will be do or die. I am not saying all die be die. I’m saying it will be ‘do or die’ because the right thing must be done,” he told Techiman-based Akina FM.
This comment has received condemnation from a cross section of Ghanaians who have called on the former President to retract his statement as it is unbecoming of a statesman, which he has refused.
He says his utterance regarding a ‘do or die’ affair at polling stations in 2024 is an idiomatic expression which has been misconstrued by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).