Members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) are reportedly appalled by the reaction of supporters of Farouk Mahama, the MP for the Yendi and son of the late two-term vice-president under President John Kufuor, following unconfirmed reports that he will not be appointed a deputy minister in the second-term government of President Akufo-Addo.
Asaase News sources in the Office of the President further say that the noted members are particularly unhappy with the complaints on ethnic grounds by the Yendi MP’s supporters, because there are three other Dagombas who are either part of or under consideration for appointment in the second-term Akufo-Addo government.
The other figures are Mohammed Awal, the Minister of State responsible for Tourism and the Creative Arts, Amin Adam, a potential deputy minister of energy, and Hassan Tampuli, the former chief executive officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), who is also a potential deputy minister.
GIISDC appointment
According to our sources at Jubilee House, NPP members were surprised by the reactions because they have been reliably informed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has pencilled the name of the young MP for Yendi, an area known to have one of the largest deposits of iron ore in Ghana, to become the new chairman of the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDC).
GIISDC was established by an act of Parliament in March 2019 to develop and promote an integrated iron and steel industry (IISI). The company will hold the Government of Ghana’s full stake across the value chain in the IISI – a minimum 30% stake in any new mine, refinery or smelter.
It will also encourage local content and technology transfer to boost industrialisation in Ghana and ensure equity among local and foreign investors. It will be the main motor to accelerate the government’s industrialisation and economic growth agenda.
GIISDEC’s overarching goal is to leverage on Ghana’s iron ore reserves and allied steel assets to drive the growth of the industrial sector nationally.
Claim by supporter
An aide to Farouk Mahama, Abdallah Matin, one of the MP’s supporters who is aggrieved by the alleged omission of Mahama from the list of those in line to become deputy ministers, took to Facebook to register his displeasure.
“He won the hottest primaries in the North,” Abdallah Matin wrote. “He won the general election with over 16,000 votes’ difference, making a record win margin in the constituency and whole Northern Region. He won Promising Politician and Development Politician of the Year.
“There is no MP in the whole Northern Region that can match him when it comes to performance. But Nana Addo overlooked him for a deputy ministerial position which is even below his pedigree if there was a bit of sanity in this game. Am p***ed off!”
Fake Facebook post
The Yendi MP has issued a disclaimer on his own Facebook wall, after what he described as a statement posted by his social media handlers.
The original post on Farouk Mahama’s Facebook wall, which seemed to refer to the work and sacrifice of his late father and former vice-president, Aliu Mahama, stated:
“You fought for and bankrolled a bewildered party into power after three decades of opposition. Though disfavoured by party, you fought on till you gave up the ghost in the trail of campaign in the run-up to the 2012 polls. We knew what you stood for – clean heart for party, the rank and file. So we stand with you, in spirit, to ensure the continuity of your legacy.
“Daddy, it is with grave sadness, I inform you today that the very people you died fighting for sit aloof while your legacy is being trampled upon like children of lesser gods. We take solace in the fact that they have legacies too and will want them protected far after they are gone.
“May theirs not be treated with iron fist like yours is treated today. The godly spirits that lifted you higher up will protect your legacy too and make them blossom. This, for me, constitutes a message on the state of your legacy.”
Disclaimer
In his disclaimer, Farouk Mahama said his attention had been drawn to a media write-up circulating on social media and purporting to be written by him.
“I want to place on record that the piece is not my craft and does not represent my thoughts. Immediately my attention was drawn to it I sanctioned the handlers of my page and directed that the write-up be pulled down; same was effected at my behest. I do not share in the contents of the piece neither does it sit with my upbringing.
“Once again, the write-up was not my handiwork and must be treated with the contempt it deserves.”
The statement was signed “Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama, MP, Yendi Constituency”.
Wilberforce Asare
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