I watched in total amazement, Ibrahim Mahama, a junior brother of president John Mahama, being given a full military escort by personnel in full combat-gear. The occasion was just an ordinary morning walk by some supporters of the NDC party.
Since the inception of John Mahama-led NDC administration, there have been many cases blatant disregard for ethics governing presidential behaviour. Acts of nepotism have characterized the president’s behaviour and this has been serious worry to members of NDC, mostly at the grassroots.
During electioneering campaign, the party’s foot-soldiers are always called upon to do the dirty work in the hinterlands, often with no support, by way of logistics from the top. These foot-soldiers are the ones that endure the rigors of campaign.
But when NDC finally finds its way into political power, the spoils of war then fall into the hands of only the infinitesimal clique at the top, and are often close friends or family members of the president. This episode played out significantly under the Atta-Mills reign where their party foot-soldiers often took matters into their own hands and meted instant justice to their party appointees.
But instead of such a shameful act of nepotism being dealt with, John Mahama has rather entrenched the practice, and it has now become institutionalized. The issue got so deep-seated in the fabric of John Mahama’s administration that, even elements at the very leadership pinnacle of NDC got fed up and openly made their frustrations public.
It was this level of total exclusivity of a club of family and friends by John Mahama, where every juicy government contract goes to his brother, Ibrahim, that, infuriated Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, to pour his heart out with all-guns-blazing on November 5, 2013, that "If you go around the ground, the statement people are making is that this is not a government of NDC."
The former Majority Leader took his crusade of criticism against the presidency another notch higher by disowning the current administration saying it was for "family and friends."
Alban Bagbin, MP for Nadowli-Kaleo also stood by his remarks criticizing the president for being “inaccessible and lacking the political will to fight corruption.”
Following his remarks, critics in government kept lining up to tell him off for comments seen as publicly ridiculing the President. Amongst whom was a deputy minister for Information Felix Ofosu-Kwakye who called on him to resign.
But Alban Bagbin shot back insisting “we had to tell him [President Mahama] for him to be able to change."
Alban Bagbin who was a member of the government's 'three wise men,’ at the time, was demanding that the party takeover the running of the presidency because "it is the party that promised the people" and got him elected.
He explained to Joy News that there were people who wrote the party manifesto and fought for John Mahama to become president and that these people ought to "be in charge of the governance of this country to make sure we implement the promises to the people". Bagbin further yelled that "President Mahama cannot implement it alone."
Bagbin further stated that it was “unnerving to go the official residence of the President to find party outsiders manning the place.”
"If you go to President Mahama's house, the official residence and Randy Abbey is in charge there, how do you expect NDC members to have access to the President?" Alban Bagbin said.
But tactically, John Mahama always silences these internal critics with government appointments, while his great and wealthy empire of family and friends, continues to thrive.
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