President Akufo-Addo virtually stripped John Dramani Mahama naked by disclosing to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II that he cannot see the infrastructural projects the former president touted ahead of the 2016 polls.

Addressing Otumfuo and his chiefs at the Manhyia Palace, the President stated that Mr. Mahama openly boasted about the significant gains that his administration made in infrastructure and road development prior to the 2016 general election.

President Akufo-Addo, who is currently on a five-day working visit to the Ashanti Region, however, disclosed that Mr. Mahama’s so-called infrastructural and road projects could not be found in all the regions that he had visited so far.

He said he knew that the ex-president’s so-called infrastructural projects were non-existent, but he (Nana Akufo-Addo) became a target of insults by Mr Mahama and his allies when he posed questions.

“Otumfuo, I toured most of the regions in the country before coming to the Ashanti Region, and surprisingly all the regions that I have visited so far, I did not see Mr. Mahama’s so-called unprecedented infrastructural development.

“Interestingly, almost all the road networks are in deplorable state and the people are rather crying to my government to come and fix their bad roads,” the president disclosed at the Manhyia Palace, which attract laughter from the gathering.

“I knew that Mr. Mahama’s so-called unprecedented infrastructural development was palpably false, but when I questioned him, Mr Mahama said, I was sleeping that is why I did not see his constructed roads.”

Even before the president could conclude his statement, people, who had attended the Akwasidae Festival at the Manhyia Palace on Sunday, burst into laughter, forcing him to pause for a while.

President Akufo-Addo said “now the political season, which Mr Mahama took advantage of to peddle falsehood are over and Ghanaians have seen whether I was sleeping as he (Mahama) claimed during the 2016 polls era.”

According to the President, the current of state of roads in the Ashanti Region, especially Kumasi, the regional capital, clearly buttresses his point that roads in the country are in deplorable state.

No Cash

The president disclosed that Mr. Mahama’s government left empty coffers which made it difficult for the current administration to fix the mess.

President Akufo-Addo stated: “I am a courageous leader and so even though I inherited empty coffers, I will still work assiduously to raise funds to tackle the numerous problems that Mr. Mahama left behind.”

GH¢500m For K’si Roads

He stated that his administration was committed to fixing all the bad roads in the Ashanti Region, announcing that GH¢500 million had been allocated to fix the poor road network in the Ashanti Region, this year.

The president admitted that owing to the many years of neglect by the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration, it would take time to fix all the deplorable roads.

“I will appeal to Nananom to exercise patience and also explain to their people that the level of destruction of the roads is startling; I will fix the roads before my tenure ends,” he added.

The president indicated that his New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration would generally improve infrastructure across the country.

According to him, providing jobs for the teeming unemployed youth and making the economy vibrant are part of his grand agenda, stating that with God on his side, his dreams would soon become a reality.

Otumfuo

The Asantehene, in his remarks, charged the president to quickly introduce his policies to improve the lives of the citizens and render proper accounts to Ghanaians after four years in office.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu indicated that the president has good plans to accelerate the development of the country, stressing that he (Otumfuo) would always support him with prayers to fulfill his dreams.