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The running mate to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, wasted little time in responding to President John Mahama’s challenge to reveal the cost of the 2007 redenomination of the cedi by urging the President to read and get his facts right.

Describing President Mahama’s challenge as fueled by propaganda and a “demonstration of incompetence” via Facebook, Dr. Bawumia said the President could have simply have asked his running mate, who was Bank of Ghana Governor between 2009 and 2012.

His Facebook post also came with a link to a Daily Graphic report from 2007 that indicated that the redenomination exercise cost GHc 66.2 million.

Yesterday [Tuesday], President Mahama challenged Dr. Bawumia to reveal the cost of the cedi redenomination exercise in 2007.

Speaking at a rally in the Ablekuma North constituency, President Mahama held that since Dr. Bawumia was the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana at the time of the cedi redenomination in 2007, he should be able to tell Ghanaians how much it cost government to undertake the exercise.

The President Mahama proceeded to accuse the NPP running mate of incompetence and corruption but in his Facebook post, Dr. Bawumia also retorted that such comments embarrass the Presidency.

“Such petty propaganda should be beneath someone of the stature of a President. It is clear he is very poorly briefed, but when a President decides to join the bandwagon of propaganda , he only ends up embarrassing himself,” Dr. Bawumia said.

Find below the full Facebook post.

Mr. President, care to read?

Today’s request for disclosure on the 2007 redenomination is another demonstration of incompetence. Apart from the fact that the then Governor disclosed the cost as far back as 2007, if the President really wanted to find out the cost of the redenomination, he could simply have asked his VEEP who was Bank of Ghana Governor, especially when the President was Head of the Economic Management Team between 2009 and 2012.

Such petty propaganda should be beneath someone of the stature of a President. It is clear he is very poorly briefed, but when a President decides to join the bandwagon of propaganda , he only ends up embarrassing himself.

Moving on, can the President (with the same zeal) and his Economic Management Team respond to the 170 statements contained in my last lecture?