Tema senior citizens hail Mahama and Bawumia for peaceful elections

A group of senior citizens in Tema in the Greater Accra region has praised President-elect John Dramani Mahama and outgoing Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for showing leadership that has led to a largely peaceful aftermath of the 2024 elections.

In interviews with the media, the senior citizens, known as the Tema Lunch-Mates, said they doffed their hats to the two candidates of the two leading political parties in Ghana for putting the country’s peace ahead of every other consideration.

“The first order of appreciation goes to His Excellency Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for the early concession that he made when he realized he had lost the presidential election. This, as we all know, was a timely act of maturity that spared the country the spectre of tension and violence,” Michael Yaw Offei, a retired diplomat and economist, said.

Mike Offei said the second order of thanks also goes to President John Mahama, who stepped in to dissuade National Democratic Congress party supporters who were on the verge of venting their anger on election re-collation exercises by the Electoral Commission.

“Leadership is indeed caused and everything else is effect because after His Excellency President John Mahama had directed that no party member goes to the collation centres, the directive was listened to and the supporters stepped down.

“This saved all of us possible mayhem that could have broken out at the collation centres.”

The interviews had been granted on the sidelines of a party that was hosted by Mike Offei, the respected retired diplomat and economist.

The senior citizens also used the occasion to urge the Electoral Commission and other aggrieved parties to the elections who have issues, to go to court for redress.

“The purpose for which we established the courts is for redress, and so rather than argue and engage in debates and actions that can lead to violence, we will urge all aggrieved parties to go to court to have their grievances redressed,” Edward Ababio, alias Opuler, the Chairman of the Lunch-Mates, who opened the dancing floor with Miss Afia Boadiwaa, a businesswoman in the hospitality industry, said.

He bemoaned the fact that weeks after the elections, the Electoral Commission is still undertaking re-collation with the spectre of violence and confusion, saying it unnecessarily takes the shine away from the otherwise peaceful and credible elections that the EC shepherded.

“Given the spectre of violence, one can only imagine if the vote difference in the presidential election was slim. This is why we highly commend His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for the early concession and His Excellency John Mahama for making sanity prevail when party supporters were on the verge of mayhem,” the respected Edward Ababio said.

Meanwhile, a leading member of the Tema Lunch-Mates, Mr. Yaw Baffoe, has praised the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, for what he said has been exceptional leadership of parliament throughout the eighth parliament.

According to him, the sterling leadership of Rt. Hon. Bagbin was what ensured that the eighth parliament, which was hung, did not become an albatross for the country. “Let me use this opportunity to call on the NDC Majority side of the incoming 9th parliament to reprise the Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin as the Speaker. We need more of his extraordinary leadership in the House,” Yaw Baffoe said.

Ebenezer Paa Kofi Grant, a retired educationist and the Master of Ceremony at the well-attended function advised journalists to avoid the temptation to lower journalistic standards. Those in attendance at the colourful ceremony included Abraham Ossei Aidooh, former Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Eastern Naval Commander Commodore Maxwell Arhin, Oti Boakye Yiadom, a retired banker, Dr. Thomas Mensah Afful, a medical practitioner, Perry Nyamekor, De-Kuza Akwetey, Joseph Ohemeng, Kwame Arthur Richardson, alias Ice-cool of Texas, who are all businessmen, Dr. Godson Acquah, United States-based medical practitioner, and Isaac K. Awuni, a security expert.

Aubrey Aidooh, a brilliant legal practitioner, Napoleon Wobil, a petrochemical engineer, Dorcas Naa, a businesswoman, Ewurabena Barnes, a businesswoman, Michael Adade, a leading member of Tema Premier Tennis Club, Ken Mpare, executive director of KGL Foundation, and Martin Boakye, a businessman, also took part in the “chop-chop.”

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