'If you're tired, leave office for someone ready to lead' - Sammy Awuku tells Mahama

Member of Parliament for Akuapem North, Sammy Awuku, has demanded that President John Dramani Mahama either fix Ghana’s recurring flooding crisis or step aside, accusing the government of offering excuses instead of solutions while lives, homes, and livelihoods continue to be destroyed by devastating floods.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on June 30, 2026, during deliberations on the devastating floods that followed the June 29 downpour, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawmaker said the Mahama administration had inherited detailed plans and drainage projects from the previous government but had failed to build on them.

Sammy Awuku maintained that the current administration had no excuse for the continued flooding, insisting that the previous Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government had already undertaken comprehensive studies into Accra’s flood challenges and initiated several drainage projects aimed at reducing the perennial disaster.

Drawing comparisons with the June 3, 2015, flood and explosion disaster, which claimed more than 150 lives under Mahama’s first administration, Sammy Awuku argued that Ghanaians had already demonstrated in the 2016 elections that they would hold governments accountable for their response to national tragedies.

“Under the previous Mahama government, of which my good friend and brother Felix Kwakye Ofosu was part, on a single night in June 2015, we lost over 150 lives. A single night. Then the Ghanaian people asked them to retire in 2016,” he said.

According to him, after spending eight years in opposition, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) should have been adequately prepared to tackle Ghana’s flooding challenges instead of relying on committees and press briefings.

Accra Floods: President Mahama issues 5 key directives to tackle perennial crisis

He described President Mahama as “one of the luckiest presidents in the world”, arguing that his predecessor had left behind a clear roadmap for addressing flooding in Accra.

He also referenced a statement made in Parliament by former Works and Housing Minister Francis Asenso-Boakye, saying the former minister had outlined several flood mitigation projects that were already underway before the change in government.

The Akuapem North MP accused the NDC of previously politicising every flood incident that occurred between 2017 and 2024 but now behaving as though Ghana’s flooding problems had only begun after it returned to power.

“Today, the NDC, which took pride, solace and comfort in politicising every flood situation in Ghana from 2017 to 2024, is today playing the role of Pope John Paul II and behaving as if Ghana only started in 2017,” he stated.

Sammy Awuku stressed that beyond the casualty figures being reported, thousands of Ghanaians had suffered devastating financial losses, with many seeing their businesses destroyed and livelihoods wiped out by the floods.

He illustrated his point by referring to small business owners who may have borrowed money to invest in their businesses only to lose everything in the floods.

“Somebody might have taken a GH¢2,000 loan. Today, that money is gone,” he said.

The MP also criticised government spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu, claiming the minister had been in the United States when the heavy rains began while many Ghanaians were struggling through the disaster.

Although he said he could “pardon” Kwakye Ofosu because he may not have witnessed events from the beginning, Awuku maintained that the government’s response since then had been inadequate.

He argued that holding press conferences would not solve the country’s drainage challenges.

“Press conferences won’t desilt our gutters. Press conferences won’t solve the problems of our poor drainage system,” he said.

He further questioned the structure of the government’s anti-flood task force, expressing surprise that the Minister for the Interior was addressing Parliament on behalf of a task force that, according to him, did not officially include the Interior Minister as a member.

According to him, the flood crisis requires decisive leadership rather than public relations exercises.

“Mr Speaker, I clearly believe that this is the time we need leadership. Leadership is not a team sport. When you are elected to lead, you lead,” he said.

He added that Ghanaians were looking for practical solutions instead of political messaging.

“We don’t elect leaders to tell us our problems. We elect leaders to fix our problems,” he stated.

He concluded with a direct challenge to President Mahama, saying that if the President was unwilling or unable to tackle the country’s flood crisis, he should step aside for someone prepared to lead.

“If President Mahama is tired, he can leave the position for somebody who is ready to lead us to that promised land,” he declared.

@dotcomghana Sammy Awuku demands President Mahama fix Accra floods or resign. #AccraFlood #ghana #sanitation #floods #rain ♬ original sound - Dotcom Ghana