Akufo-Addo, Mahama in secret Kumasi meetings

It has emerged that President John Mahama and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo met and had fruitful mutual discussions before the December 7 polls and after the elections to smoothen some rough edges.

The secret and reportedly important meeting was said to have been held at the instance of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II a few hours to the polls.

The Asantehene reportedly called the meeting to help foster peace and unity between President Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo.

The closed-door meeting reportedly took place at Otumfuo’s official residence at the Manhyia Palace, DAILY GUIDE has learnt.

Outspoken MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, insists that President Mahama lodged a complaint against him (Agyapong) to Nana Akufo-Addo during the said meeting.

Fresh Meeting

DAILY GUIDE has also gathered that President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo and President Mahama again met with Otumfuo last Tuesday.

The latest meeting took place at the Asantehene’s private house at Ahodwo, at about 11:00 pm.

President Mahama, who was returning from The Gambia where he had gone for mediation over disputed election, flew straight to Kumasi where he had discussions with Nana Akufo-Addo and Otumfuo.

Details of the second meeting were scanty, but checks indicate that it was meant to bolster peace between the two dignitaries and their numerous supporters, as well as ensure a smooth handing over process.

Mahama Complaints

Mr Kennedy Agyapong, who claims to have details of the first meeting, said President Mahama made several complaints to Nana Akufo-Addo.

For instance, he said the president complained that he (Kennedy) had threatened to cause the arrest of First Lady, Lordina Mahama, should the NPP win the polls.

Speaking on Adom Television on Wednesday, the Assin Central MP asserted that the president also complained that “I have also threatened to call for the arrest of his brother and one, Ali Seidu, a businessman.”

“Nana Akufo-Addo asked me whether President Mahama’s complaints were true, and I said I have indeed threatened to get the three people arrested,” Kennedy said.

He said President Mahama during the meeting also hinted “about how he had used a lot of resources to get me kicked out as MP during the recent polls, but I still won.”

He made mockery of President Mahama’s complaint about him to Nana Akufo-Addo and Otumfuo, saying the president was scared about his threats.

“I have proved to President Mahama that I am tough. He planned for my defeat in the polls but I won convincingly,” the MP stressed.

The NPP’s candidate Nana Akufo-Addo secured 53.85% as against the president’s 44.40% and over one million votes margin to make Mr Mahama a one-term president in the history of Ghana.

Apart from President Mahama’s humiliating defeat, the NDC also lost about 49 parliamentary seats to the NPP and are now going into the next dispensation as minority in parliament with only 104 seats against the opposition NPP’s 171.

NDC’s Plans

A group calling itself Students Network for Nana Addo (STUNNAD) had alleged that the NDC failed to win the elections because its rigging tactics were checkmated by the NPP.

According to the group, the NDC leaders had relied on their unholy alliance with the EC to rig the elections, asking the outgoing ruling party to explain to the public where its so-called collation centre was located.

He alleged that “the NDC positioned their collation hub into the Electoral Commission’s E-transmitting System and channeled it to their system on the top floor of their new Adabraka office in an attempt to massage the figures as coming from various constituencies before they forward it to EC’s National Collation Centre.”

The group added, “This was how the NDC was planning to rig the election with the EC. Thank God the NPP and the media got the results first.”

STUNNAD wanted to know whether the sets of pink sheets the NDC was going to use to collate the results “were different from the media houses and the rest of the political parties.