Odike jabs Mahama over ‘chop chop’

Presidential candidate of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addai, popularly called Odike, has lambasted President Mahama for presiding over a corrupt government which doesn’t care about the populace.

He insisted that the corrupt practices of some NDC government officials and party executives, who are living lavishly while the masses wallow in adverse poverty, is the main cause of the frequent strikes by public workers.

“Government expenditure and affluent lifestyles by some government officials and leading NDC members have angered the public workers who think the government is taking them for a ride; hence the frequent strike actions,” he observed.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with DAILY GUIDE, Odike stressed that the public sector, from all indications, doesn’t have confidence in the NDC administration with regard to ensuring their proper welfare.

“Public workers in the country have the impression that government officials are amassing wealth at the detriment of the masses,” he said, adding, “this has infuriated the masses who voted them into political power.”

Odike therefore charged President Mahama to sit up and implement policies that would halt the affluent lifestyles being showcased by some government officials in order to douse the anger of the public workers.

The UPP founder and leader was of the strong conviction that the recent industrial actions by public workers would stop if government officials started living modest lifestyles.

Odike, who spoke on various issues, then turned the heat on President Mahama, jabbing the first gentleman of the land over his recent comments concerning the industrial action being undertaken by the medical doctors in the country.

According to him, President Mahama’s statement to the affect that “he could not authorise payment of any expenditure on wages not provided for in the budget for both government workers and appointees” was very unfortunate.

Odike stated that President Mahama’s comment angered the medical doctors, noting that as the first gentleman of the land, the president erred by making such an “unfortunate statement.”

He said the doctors had every right to fight for better working conditions and wages and that nobody, including President Mahama, should say things that would infuriate them.

The UPP presidential candidate for the 2016 polls appealed to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who wields enormous power and respect in the country, to intervene in the standoff between government and the doctors.