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Former NDC Central Regional Chairman, Bernard Allotey Jacobs has jabbed the NDC 2020 Presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama over his comments on the Akufo-Addo administration's usage of the COVID-19 relief funds meant for Ghanaians.

According to former President John Mahama, the current administration misappropriated the funds using GHC 33 billion of it to advance his (Nana Akufo-Addo) 2020 election bid.

“Ghana’s fate was easy to predict with the cavalier handling of the economy by the current administration. We went into the pandemic without adequate buffers, and have emerged with a terribly battered economy,” Mr. Mahama said, alleging that “to make matters worse, the pandemic windfall of over GH¢33 billion which could have cushioned the economy remains unaudited and is believed to have been used largely in the quest to win the 2020 elections at all cost.”

He added “before the pandemic, poverty reduction was already a major challenge. The pandemic is estimated to have dragged about 55 million more people into poverty in Africa and exposed another 46 million more to the risk of hunger, and malnourishment. Indeed 70% of hunger in Africa, which had already been on the rise since 2014 is directly attributable to this pandemic”.

Reacting to Mr. Mahama's allegations on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Allotey Jacobs cried over what he believes is "dirty politics" practiced in Ghana where the masses are fed with lies instead of the truth.

He wondered why Mr. Mahama and his likes bastardize Ghana to appease the international community, stressing one powerful tool of the politician is deception.

" . . you go outside there to appease the international community but inside here, you bastardize the system . . . I say political leaders see our weaknesses all the time, so everything it makes us accept everything they say and work with it."

Allotey Jacobs cautioned the former President and all politicians to desist from the politics of lies.

"It will breed something. We are stoking the fire that, for 2024, if care is not taken, the utterances of the leaders will lead their followers to take actions that may cause mayhem in this country," he said.

Offering advice to the leaders and political actors, he said, "at least we are matured enough to let decency come into our politics, truth and honesty to come into our politics. It disturbs me because I've been part in those days polluting minds, character assassinating people, undermining people just because we think that it is all ingredients of politics; so we have to do something to win the hearts of the people so that we climb to power . . . Let's change our politics a little and let people know the truth".