Former President John Dramani Mahama has described Bole, his hometown in the Northern Region, as the ladder that propelled his political career and made him who he is today.

Speaking on Bole-based Nkilgi FM after organising his annual Christmas party for the children of Bole on Boxing Day, Mr Mahama said his pollical journey started in Bole and, therefore, he is always happy to be there anytime, especially during the yuletide.

"I am happy to be back home. This is where it all started. I started as a young MP and climbed up the ladder as Deputy Minister, Minister and eventually Vice-President and President. Bole is not only my home but Bole is the ladder that made me climb up the political ladder."

"So, I always come back home to renew my energy, to greet my people, so, if you see me here it is what I do every year. I come and I interact with my party executives, we prepare some food, we feed children. I came back home with that purpose,” Mr Mahama stated.

Former President Mahama is popular in his hometown of Bole where he served as the MP for 12 years (1997 – 2009) and rose through the ranks of politics to become a President.

Mr Mahama also expressed the strongest belief that the NDC, the party he is leading into the 2020 general elections, will emerge victorious.

Mr Mahama said Ghanaians have seen both the NDC and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in power and believes they would prefer the NDC to the NPP in 2020.

Next year, he noted, “Is an election year, and as everyone knows, I'm running as flag bearer of the NDC and we have started doing our preparatory work and I'm sure that by the grace of God, victory will be ours. Next year … one year from now, we will probably be preparing to handle the transition”.

The former President further stated that: “They say that things happen for a purpose. Everything that happens is necessary because whatever happens to you, whether it is an adversity or it is a fortune, moves you to the next level and you learn an experience from it… and, so, I believe whatever happened this four years, it is God that made it happen so that we can see the difference between governance of the two parties… people have witnessed the NDC and the NPP and they themselves can draw a conclusion".