Former president John Dramani Mahama has taken a swipe at his opponent Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over what he says is the supervision of the highest level of nepotism in his government.

According to the former leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mahama said what is happening now can in no way be compared to allegations people levelled against him about running a ‘family and friends affair’ when his party was in power.

Speaking to some NDC delegates in the Volta region Saturday evening, Mahama maintained that he only employed one relative which was the then deputy minister of Transport, Joyce Bawah but today every sector is full of the President’s family members.

“The only person in my government and I have said it over and over again with the same blood flowing in her veins as mine was a deputy minister of transport, Joyce Bawah my only family member in my government… Today every sector is full of the president’s family, it is the most nepotistic in the history of Ghana, and we’ve never seen this level of nepotism in Ghana before, Mahama told his delegates.

Mahama said, instead of the NPP to admit and keep mute, they rather defend it by saying the people are qualified. He noted “When we talk they say oh they are qualified, so who doesn’t have qualified relatives, who doesn’t have qualified families, we all have qualified families”.



Last year, Member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong confessed that President Akufo-Addo was running a family and friend’s government.

According Agyapong, in spite of such family and friends’ ties with the president, they were men who are more qualified and competent than those in the Mahama-administration.

After Ken Agyapong’s revelation on Adom TV, member of National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s legal team, Abraham Amaliba, also accused Akufo-Addo of engaging his family in the government sector.



He said the country was being mismanaged because of over 45 close relatives of the president are serving in various positions in his government.