Stephen Ashitey Adjei, leader of some 3000 ex-workers of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, said the loss of President John Mahama in the December 7 elections was self-inflicted.

He said the inability of his administration to pay the ex-workers their ex-gratia was a contributory factor towards his defeat.

Mr Adjei claimed that most of the personnel, their families and friends voted against the President, whilst others cursed him out of frustration.

A statement he issued in Accra noted that President Mahama would not have lost the elections “if he had done the right thing by paying them the monies due them “.

He said the workers had their severance benefits unpaid by government since they were retrenched in 2002.

Mr Adjei said in the course of the 14 years, they had appealed to both the late President John Evans Atta Mills and President Mahama for the injustice to be corrected.

He said Professor Mills issued a fiat that their benefits should be paid to them.

He advised the President elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo not to repeat the mistake of President Mahama and expressed the hope that he would expedite action on the payment.

“It’s been 14 years of suffering, pain and frustration, we hope President Akufo Addo will be the one to end this injustice,” Mr Adjei said.

He said so far only five of the workers had been paid.