President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has criticized the claim made by John Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), that achieving the 8th position on the 2024 presidential ballot ensures his success.
In a recent speech, Mahama asserted,
I’m holding number 8, and I’m telling NPP to come and break it if they can.
This remark was interpreted as a direct challenge to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
Breaking the 8 and having number 8, that’s not a good sign at all.
The President expressed his support for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s candidacy, who secured the first position on the ballot. Akufo-Addo took advantage of Mahama’s statement, asserting:
I have seen that former President John Mahama is saying all kinds of things about the number 8 that he chose. That means he is going to win. Well, breaking the 8 and having number 8, that’s not a good sign at all.
Our game is to break the 8, and he picked the 8.
For nearly 20 years that I have been working with Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, I have not had one day, one occasion to doubt his loyalty, to doubt his commitment.
Akufo-Addo called upon the chiefs and residents of the Upper East Region to extend their support to Bawumia in the forthcoming elections, stating:
I have come here to ask for your support to help Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia break the 8.
He encouraged the leaders to back Dr. Bawumia in the forthcoming elections. The NPP has positioned “Breaking the 8” as a key campaign theme, with the objective of achieving a third consecutive term in power. John Mahama’s assertion regarding “Number 8” was perceived as a direct challenge to this ambition.
