Veep: I'm honoured to partner Mahama again

Vice-President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has expressed gratitude to President John Mahama for repeating him as running mate.

"I'm grateful that he has given me this opportunity to be of service and I will continue to serve him to the best of my ability. I am elated he has reposed confidence in me," the former governor of the Bank of Ghana said in an interview with journalists on Monday.

"I've tried to be honest in my daily interaction with him about what I consider to be the issues," he said, adding: "I hope that I will be able to be even more honest with the views that I express to him in the future so that together we will be able to find solution to the many problems that confront the President."

Mr Amissah-Arthur said he has, over the past few weeks, "watched and listened carefully to all the various things that have been said …and I'm surprised that people may not realise how close we've worked together."

"It’s an honour and I've gone to see the president to thank him for the re-nomination… I hope that Ghanaians will recognize the work we have done to renew the mandate of President Mahama for another four years.

"We have been able to work together and the differences have merged in cooperative work… we have tried to work by discussing in detail and criticized indoors," he added.

Different groups which lobbied for their preferred candidates described Mr Amissah-Arthur as an "incompetent" man who "lacks public appeal".

While one group clamoured for Speaker of Parliament Edward Doe Adjaho, another group wanted Foreign Affairs Minister Hanna Tetteh to be chosen as running mate.