Seize my Dubai hotel and Japanese ships - Mahama dares Akufo-Addo

Former President John Dramani Mahama has dared New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Akufo-Addo led- government to confiscate a hotel in Dubai if indeed, the hotel exist and belongs to him.

He also wants the Akufo-Addo government to seize some three commercial Japanese ships allegedly docked in Kobe, a Japanese port, again if they are owned by him as claimed by the NPP.

Aside from the ships and the hotel, Mr. Mahama who the NPP claim has bought a 6 bedroom house worth 1 million dollars in Tokyo’s exclusive Setagaya-Ku district, is asking the governing party to seize these properties upon investigation and confirmation that indeed, he owns them.

The former president insists, the Akufo-Addo must go ahead to prosecute him in the court of law, if it’s proven that the said properties assigned him were acquired through corruption, adding he has never been corrupt and did not ran an corrupt government while serving as President.

“I’ve always told the NDC that we should hold our heads high, let’s not be ashamed of our records like we did nothing. They say there was massive corruption, massive corruption where? They just kept manufacturing it and repeating it all the time. Go ahead and prosecute, we’ve told them. If I have done wrong prosecute me, they talk about hotels in Dubai, seize them, you’re in office. They talk about ships in Tokyo, go and take over them, I mean they talk about all kinds of lies and they kept on repeating them and people thought such things exist.”

It was variously reported in the pro-NPP media that the ex-President had purchased a 350 room hotel in the United Arab Emirates while he was on holiday in Dubai during his reign.

The reports said Mr.Mahama according to sources within the Dubai Investment Corporation paid 40 million Dollars for the JA Jebel Ali Hotel, a 128 Acre beach Resort which is built on its own sand dunned island.

The said hotel reportedly has spectacular waterfalls, wooden gazebos and lush gardens. It has an inscription in front of the hotel ALLAH U AKBAR meaning God is great.

But addressing some NDC supporters in the UK as part of the DiasporanReorganisationProgramme, Mr. Mahama denied the allegations, describing them as baseless and urged the public to treat such rumours with the contempt that it deserves.

Former President Mahama, said the ineptitude of the Akufo-Addo administration at governing a little over a year in office makes the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s return to power in 2021 plain sailing.

According to him, the inefficiency of the government in managing the affairs of state has left the citizenry clamouring for a return of the NDC to put Ghana back on the right path of development.

President Mahama emphasized that the NDC with a strong foundation at all levels will be in pole position to win the 2020 elections with any of the potential flagbearers.

“We must make sure that our party is strong from the branch up to the national level and that we’re working together. Indeed if the party is strong the possibility that we go with any flagbearer and win is much better, but if you have a weak foundation…the party is not strong, take the most charismatic person into the election you’re likely to lose.

So let’s build the foundation first, let’s make sure we have a strong party, after that we can settle the issue of who leads us into the next election. But I must say we have a very good chance, not only because we’re reorganizing the party but the NPP has shown that it is incompetent at governing, indeed substandard at governing. I always tell NDC that we should hold our heads high, let’s not be ashamed of our records like we did nothing.”

The Ex-President said he is deeply surprised that Ghanaians have put up with the Akufo-Addo government that has nepotism as its hallmark.

According to him, his administration was unfairly judged when he was accused of nepotism at a time he had only one blood relation serving in his government in the person of Joyce MogtariBawa.

He chided Civil Society Organizations, religious and traditional leaders for keeping mute over happenings in the Akufo-Addo government, and further bemoaned what he described as the hypocrisy in Ghana politics.

“I never ever thought that Ghanaians will tolerate the level of nepotism in the government we see today, it’s terrible, I never ever thought. In our case, one of our own said I was running a family and friends government and NPP took it up, when I had no blood relation of mine in government except for some lonely deputy minister, Joyce BawaMogtari, my aunt’s daughter. She was the only blood relation in my government and yet they said family and friends and when you ask where are they, they say ooo, but your own person said it.

“Now today look at it, that’s the new standard and yet civil society is quiet, religious and traditional leaders are quiet. When NDC comes the next time and Alabi or Bagbin or who is the President and they appoint their relatives into government are they now coming to come out and say it? Must the standards of measuring standards differ because of who is in the presidency? That is the hypocrisy of our politics, that’s the height of hypocrisy we have in Ghana.

“Something is pardonable when one government is in power but when another is in power it’s unpardonable, things that the media would have been so loud about under my administration, it happens everyday and it’s like it’s business as usual. That is the hypocrisy of our civil society and religious and traditional leaders, everybody is quiet, suddenly some say they don’t watch TV anymore and that they watch animals.

In our time they were not watching animals, they were watching political discussions. You’re now tired of too much politics…you’ll be tired, because your darling government is super incompetent and so you’re tired of hearing the analysis, that’s the hypocrisy we face in our country. So let us not buy into their propaganda.