Don't feel ashamed; we left quite a legacy – Mahama to NDC

Posterity will probably be the better judge, but even before that comes to the fore, Ex-President John Dramani Mahama, who left office just a few months ago, strongly believes his administration performed creditably well by leaving "quite a legacy for this country".

He has therefore asked anyone who served under him not to "feel ashamed or have our heads bowed in any way" since they did a yeoman's job.

At a meeting with former Ministers & Deputy Ministers of State, former Appointees, and former Presidential Staffers in Accra last month, the former president expressed his profound gratitude to his former appointees for their selfless dedication to the country under his leadership.

“We haven’t had the opportunity to meet since we handed over the regimes of government to the new administration. I really didn’t get the opportunity to say my thank you to all of you for the work that you did in supporting me to achieve what we were able to achieve over the period that Ghanaians gave us the privilege of serving in office. I thought bringing you all here to say a proper thank you was appropriate,” he said.

The December 2016 election results came as a ‘surprise’ to the Mahama-led government after the Electoral Commission (EC), declared the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, winner of the 2016 elections.

The NPP Flagbearer secured the presidency after his third time of asking, beating the incumbent, President John Mahama.

Nana Akufo-Addo rode on the back 53.85 percent of the valid votes cast to become Ghana’s fifth president under the fourth Republic.

Mr. John Mahama, who ran on the ticket of the then governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), secured 44.40 of valid votes cast - his defeat makes him the first incumbent to lose an election since Ghana returned to multi-party democracy in 1992.

After leaving the presidency, many have accused his appointees of playing several roles that contributed to their shocking defeat. The NDC has also for the past weeks been in a state of disarray as the blame game continues.

But Mr Mahama seems pleased with his appointees’ contribution during his stay at the Flagstaff House as Ghana’s President.

At the said meeting which was held in Accra on March 28, Mr Mahama charged his gallant appointees to feel proud of what they have been able to achieve for the country over the years.

“So let me say a big thank you to every single one of you for the role that you played in government in any position that you were and what you did in monumental achievement that we chalked. I believe that you must hold your heads high because that government [NDC] did a lot for this country and I do believe that posterity will be the judge eventually”

"I am proud of the work we all did together. We had a very well good working relationship and I think that we were effective in virtually every sector in which we operated and we left quite a legacy for this country we shouldn't feel ashamed or have our heads bowed in any way. Let continue to defend that legacy because we will run on that in 2020" he added.