Kwadwo Mpiani, a Chief of Staff under the erstwhile John Agyekum Kufuor administration has charged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to ask any member of his government with presidential ambitions to resign.
“The ministers are there because the President appointed them to help him rule the country. So, if they have decided to become candidates and not ministers at this stage, sure, he [Akufo-Addo] has every right to ask them to go and pursue their ambitions so that he can appoint somebody to do the work which has been entrusted to him by the people of Ghana. I think that is the legitimate thing for any President to do,” Kwadwo Mpiani told Asaase Radio in an interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Thursday.
The former Chief of Staff described the ministers' scramble for power as a very worrying development in the NPP.
“Look, if you don’t put the party on a sound footing, if the government doesn’t do well, you may even want to put Jesus Christ there [but] I don’t think He can win. So let’s support the government to do well,” he said.
“You see, the government is in a very unfortunate situation now, because of this COVID-19 and all. The economy is not doing well and it is something universal. So, our attention should be on how to perform well, so that when we put up a candidate, he will not have too much of a problem. Instead of doing that, when the government is not even in place, we are thinking of who will take over from Nana Addo. It’s a misplaced priority.”
Mpiani further observed: “I believe the current leadership is not doing well. That’s my candid opinion,” Mpiani said, adding, “I don’t know why, but maybe [it’s because of] overambition, or maybe lack of discipline in the party [the NPP]. I think it is so wrong.”
Kwadwo Mpiani, former Chief of Staff