General News of Sunday, 8 July 2018

Source: yen.com.gh

Mahama denies reports of him considering Dr Johnson Asiama as his 2020 running mate

Former  President John Dramani Mahama and Former BoG Governor, Johnson Asiama Former President John Dramani Mahama and Former BoG Governor, Johnson Asiama

Former President John Dramani Mahama has denied reports that he is considering former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana Dr Johnson Asiama as his running mate for the 2020 elections.

MyNewsGH first reported on Saturday that a highly placed source near the former President has confirmed that they have deliberated on selecting four (4) personalities shortlist to partner the former President into the main elections.

Of this four names, Dr Johnson Asiama was reported to be standing tall as a result of his age, general appeal, technocrat background, unblemished record and hailing from the Volta Region and Mahama himself was said to be for the choice.

Other names on the list, the report stated, include a woman and a man from the Volta Region and Ashanti Region respectively who both served in the Mahama administration in important positions without blemish.

But former President Mahama who in June took to social media to reveal his intent to contest in the 2020 general elections has debunked the online news portal's claims.

In a post on Twitter after the report surfaced, the former president described the report as only imagination without fact. "A+ for fertile imagination, F minus for fact," Mahama jokingly tweeted with a link to the report.

While Mahama may have described the report as not factual, the high marks given for the report's imagination may also be a pointer that his attention has been drawn to Dr Asiama.

If it turns out to be him, Dr Asiama will be the second top official from the BoG to become the running mate of Mahama after the late Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur with whom they won the 2012 elections.

Meanwhile the family of Amissah-Arthur has revealed the burial and funeral arrangements for the late vice president.

The revelation was made at a solemn one week observance held in Accra on Friday which was attended by Dr Bawumia and former President J.J. Rawlings.