Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has revealed that benefactors of the free SHS benefactors under the Akufo-Addo led administration will not forget about the impact the programme on their lives.
He maintains that, the incumbent government have done quite well in implementing the policy seamlessly.
Making these comments via his social media handles on Thursday, November 26, 2020, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah further lauded the abilities of President Akufo-Addo.
“The millions of Ghanaians impacted by the free SHS program do not have short memories. They know it was envisioned and started by President Akufo-Addo. They will speak on December 7.
“As far back as 2008, President Akufo-Addo sold free SHS as a game-changer. He has been consistently consistent. In him, we have a leader who sees beyond political convenience.”
Mr. Mahama during his tour of the Upper East Region asserted that he is the brain behind the free SHS policy prior to the taking over by President Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP)
“We started the programme and the NPP came and continued it. Unfortunately, the implementation has been very poor, and so it ended us in double track”.
Reacting to the statement of the opposition leader, President Nana Akufo-Addo expressed disbelief over claims with respect to the free SHS by presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, that he (Mahama).
Addressing a gathering at Odorkor on Wednesday, November 25, 2020, President Akufo-Addo described the statement made by John Mahama as “something yesterday which shocked me”.
“They (John Mahama and the NDC) said that I was deceiving Ghanaians, and that it was a vote buying gimmick and that for it (Free SHS) to be possible, it would take about 20 years.
“Not long ago, he said that if he had GH¢2 billion, he wouldn’t use it to pay school fees, but rather he would use it on something profitable. Today, he says that he (Mahama) introduced Free S.H.S. Are we going to allow the former president to come back to power through lies and deception?”
Additionally, he stated that the assertions made by the former president “are borne out of one thing, and that is his campaign is failing to catch up with the electorate. He has seen that his campaign is collapsing in confusion, fabrications and now outright lies.”
He however, urged residents of Odorkor in the Ablekuma North constituency to vote for the NPP government.
“I am looking for a massive endorsement for the people of Ghana for that blueprint which is set out in our manifesto of 2020. So, this year, I am pleading with you, I don’t want it in ‘boom’, but I want it in ‘boom! boom! boom!”.