Mahama will debate you when you meet the press - NDC Ashanti Regional Deputy Secretary to Bawumia

Amidst Bawumia's calls for an economic debate against the former president and flagbearer of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama, Bawumia has been challenged to face the media if he is indeed on top of issues, especially when it comes to the economy.

Baah Acheamfour, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Secretary of the NDC, has called on Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to do the needful before he may have the guts to call Mahama for a debate on the economy, as he claims.

The needful, he said, is that the Vice President and flagbearer of the NPP should first meet the press, just as the former president did recently.

Reacting to Dr. Bawumia's call for a debate in an exclusive interview with this reporter, Mr. Baah Acheamfour said, "We all know that John Mahama called for the same debate four years ago, but Bawumia and his boss Nana Addo ran away. This proves how John Mahama is always ready for debate. However, before John Dramani Mahama debates Bawumia, there's something very important we want Bawumia to fulfill before Mahama can even give him attention."

"We all know how a nurse made this same Dr. Bawumia sweat profusely when she asked just one question about the nurses' allowance. We are pleading with him that before the debate, he must know that John Mahama has already met with the media and was able to answer their questions perfectly, despite not setting the questions for any of them. The media asked him about the economy and many others but he was able to answer all of them perfectly," he said.

He has therefore urged the NPP flagbearer to equally face the media before the NDC could give him attention for a debate.

"It is the media that carries our news to the general public, and I suggest that he meet them first and stop running away from the media. Mahama alone has been able to meet with the media. Bawumia must also do the same before he thinks of debating our presidential candidate.

"I want Dr. Bawumia to clear the air for us on what will actually happen after the debate. Is it that they are going to pay back the pensioners' money to them? Or is the debate going to bring into existence the Pwalugu Dam he once claimed they had completed? Or, is the debate going to restore the glory of SSNIT, which is now in bad shape under their leadership? So meet the press, and when you're done, come and face John Dramani Mahama," he said.

He quoted Dr. Bawumia's definition of the economy and asked him to provide answers to the media if the economy really reflects in the pockets of Ghanaians, just as he once defined it.

"The economy is very important, and that's why there is a need for this debate. But I remember the same Bawumia defining the economy as a good one when people put their hands in their pockets and are able to touch something. Those are his own words. During the debate, he will be asked to answer why Ghanaians are now in such difficult situations and be made to answer it according to his own definition of the economy. This is why we dare him to meet the media first. Definitely, I know he will personally cancel his current call for a debate," he added.