A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Lawyer Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, has condemned a publication by The Informer Newspaper that sought to suggest former President John Dramani Mahama has failed in resolving the ongoing conflict in Somalia.

The Informer Newspaper published that Somali authorities have roundly rejected the mediating role to be undertaken by former Ghanaian President, John Dramani Mahama, as an African Union (AU) representative.

The newspaper publication explained that the Somalian authorities said former President John Dramani Mahama had a huge credibility crisis hanging around his neck, citing his political romance with Kenyan authorities, supporting a faction in the impasse in Somalia.

But according to lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe, former President John Mahama could not have failed the mediating role he was handed if he was not given the chance to start the work in the first place.

Speaking on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, Edudzi Tamakloe noted that the demand of a faction in the Somalian impasse to reject former President John Mahama has nothing to do with his competence to deliver the responsibility given him but rather, they raised concerns that he has some ties with the Kenyan government which will not make him neutral in the mediation.

He stressed that some of the rebel groups in Somalia have bad blood with the Kenyan government and the fact that former President John Mahama was sent by the African Union to observe the last Kenyan elections, made him appear to the rebel groups as someone who cannot act neutrally in his mediation role, hence the rejection.

He disclosed that another faction in the Somali impasse welcomed former President John Dramani Mahama when his name came up to lead the mediation to end the conflict

“What is critical is that there are various factions and one group says they are comfortable and the other group said that they are not comfortable with him because he was one of the observers in Kenya’s last election and some of the rebel groups in Somalia have been fighting the government of Kenya and so there has been some bad blood between some of the rebel groups in Somalia and the government of Kenya,” he explained.

“He is yet to even start the mediation work before the other faction of the groups said that they don’t like him and so I am surprised how anybody can even suggest that a work that has not been done, now someone has failed. I don’t understand because he had not started the work; it was only his appointment to lead in the mediation effort that the other faction of the group has kicked against,” he wondered.

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