Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has urged Ghanaians to cast their votes firmly against John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), in the general elections scheduled for December 7.
Speaking on Saturday, November 23, 2024, at a campaign event in Saboba, Bawumia charged that the NDC mismanaged development-related resources and neglected the five northern regions while it was in office.
The Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), a major project of the NDC government that sought to accelerate development in the north, was implemented with criticism from Bawumia.
He said that money intended for revolutionary programs was wasted on misguided initiatives, such as the notorious guinea fowl farming operation, which he said provided no real advantages to the populace.
Bawumia was unreserved in his criticism of Mahama, accusing him of overseeing the misappropriation of hundreds of millions of Ghanaian cedis that were supposed to go to SADA.
He cited the five northern areas’ dearth of visible development projects as proof that the NDC had fallen short of its objectives.
He brought back to life the scandal surrounding SADA’s guinea fowl project, which during the Mahama government came to represent purported ineptitude and corruption.
He criticized the NDC’s purported justification, which has since been derided in Ghanaian politics, that the guinea fowls had fled to Burkina Faso.
“In this election, there are two of us, isn’t it? Myself and the former president. During his time, all the money, hundreds of millions that were given to him [John Dramani Mahama] to develop the north, he said he was raring guinea fowls.
“Guineafowls under SADA and we have not seen one SADA project in the five northern regions. Is there a SADA project in Saboba?
“We asked him, where are the guinea fowls and he said they have flown to Burkina Faso. And today, he says he wants to come back. Do you want him to come back?”