A call has gone to President John Mahama to scrap the Council of State if he is convinced the elderly cannot contribute meaningfully to national development.
Kwabena Allen Gyimah, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who made the call in an interview with The New Statesman, described as unfortunate the statesman by President Mahama that he belongs to younger generation and therefore ought to be voted for to lead the nation in 2013.
He was reacting to the President's comment that he is the only leader who was born after the country's independence, describing the statement as childish which should not have come from an incumbent President. “He was very much unfair to the elderly people in this country,” he charged.
He argued that since older people often constitute the membership of the Council of State, President Mahama should abolish it because they cannot give good counsel to his NDC government.
Mr. Gyimah, a seventy-year-old businessman, wanted to know from the President if the older people, including the Ahwois, the Tsikatas’ and PV Obengs’ in the NDC are hopeless and cannot contribute their quota to the so-called NDC's Better Ghana Agenda.
He posed, “Is President Mahama telling Ghanaians that the NDC government under the late Prof. Mills could not perform due to his old age or what?”
According to him, he would prefer an experienced and matured politician with ideas to lead the nation rather than a youthful leader who only come to government to amass wealth, adding, “the Presidency is not meant for weight lifting.”
He advised political leaders to talk about what they have achieved and what they intend to do if voted into power and to desist from propagating tribalism, personality attacks and creating politics of division.
Commenting on the proposed free secondary education by Nana Akufo-Addo, NPP flag bearer, the NPP guru entreated the electorate to vote for him and challenged him to implement the laudable policy in his first term of office if he becomes the next President.
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