The 2024 election will be the battle of the North since both candidates, John Mahama and Dr Bawumia of the two major political parties, NDC and NPP are from the Northern side of the country. But the two political giants engaged in some verbal battles in 2023 that we need to look at.
Let’s take a look at 3 Times John Mahama clashed with Dr Bawumia In 2023;
1. Mahama’s 24-hour economy policy doesn’t make sense – Bawumia taunts
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia attacked the 24-hour economy policy proposition put forth by former president John Dramani Mahama.
Bawumia, who was elected flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) ahead of the 2024 general elections explained that the idea of a 24-hour economy was not new to Ghana and that it appeared Mahama does not understand the concept.
“John Mahama says he has a new idea, what is this new idea, he says he wants a 24-hour economy. He doesn’t even understand that promise,” Bawumia told a teeming crowd up north on his first visit since his election as flagbearer.
He listed among others; hospitals, power and fuel service providers and some chop bars, that are already operating 24 hours adding that thanks to digitalization, “you can transfer and receive money 24 hours.”
“He (Mahama) doesn’t understand his own policy, it does not make sense. I want you to note in 2024 we are having a new vision. I will bring new policy and we will transform this country. John Mahama is the past, Dr. Bawumia is the future,” Bawumia added to cheers from the crowd.
Mahama buttressed his policy proposal of a 24/7 economy during his engagement with the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
2. Your face has never been on a ballot paper – Mahama blasts Bawumia over ‘I’ve beaten him twice’ comment
Former President John Dramani Mahama clapped back at Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia over his claims that he has beaten him twice in elections.
Speaking on the KSM show, Mr Mahama said Dr Bawumia was wrong in his assertion.
“He says he knows how to beat me and that he’s beaten me before. That’s what I saw, that he’s beaten me twice and he knows how to beat me again. But I’ve never run against him; his face has never been on a presidential ballot paper.
“How can you say you’ve beaten me? I’ve never run against you as a presidential candidate. It’s Nana Addo I run against in 2012, I beat him and then in 2016 he won and then 2020 he won.
“So even between Nana Addo and I, I’ve won once he’s won twice. It’s just that he’s not going to run again but I am sure if he was going to run again, I would’ve equalised,” the former president emphasised.
Mr Mahama reacted to Dr Bawumia’s claim during his flagbearership campaign when he told New Patriotic Party delegates to elect him as flagbearer for the 2024 presidential election because he could easily beat the Mr Mahama who is the candidate of the National Democratic Congress.
3. “It’s hypocrisy”: Mahama slams Bawumia for stealing his ‘Muslim mortuaries’ idea
NDC presidential candidate for the 2024 elections John Dramani Mahama accused Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia of surreptitiously stealing his idea to build mortuaries at Zongos.
The former president said the Vice President’s U-turn about the proposal to build mortuaries in Muslim communities amounts to hypocrisy.
“We said we were going to provide special places so that Muslims can perform the rituals that are necessary and hurriedly go and do the burial. They started laughing at us…Recently, I saw the vice president attending a function to commission a mortuary for Muslims,” he said.
In the lead-up to the 2020 general elections, Mahama and the NDC promised to construct at least 300 morgues in Zongo communities as part of the party’s manifesto.
Mahama explained at the time that the mortuaries would be part of forward-looking programmes the NDC had planned for Zongos.
But the manifesto promise was shot down by Dr Bawumia and the NPP as poorly thought-out.
The vice president, who is leading the NPP in the 2024 elections criticised the plan to build mortuaries as lacking priority.
According to him, the number one priority of people living in Muslim communities is education and not morgues.
“Mortuaries are not the most important priority in Zongos; they need knowledge and education” he said on Asempa FM.