Asiedu Nketia Warns: 3rd-Term Bid for Mahama Could Trigger Coup

The National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has warned that President John Dramani Mahama risks triggering a military takeover if he attempts to seek a third term.

He cautioned that Ghana could suffer the same fate as Guinea, where the president removed term limits, rigged elections, and stayed in power only to be ousted by the military. “A third-term presidential limit in Ghana could trigger a coup,” he warned.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday, he asked, “If we remove presidential term limits, how different will people see us from the people of Guinea? Are we going to face that risk?”

Gbande
His comments came in response to Mustapha Gbande’s assertion that if the Supreme Court rules President Mahama can run for a third term, the NDC as a party would force him to do so.

Asiedu Nketia, however, clarified that when a position becomes open, the party does not push any candidate. Instead, it simply opens nominations for those interested. “So if you choose to contest or not, it’s your own business. The party has no capacity to compel somebody to run or not,” he said.

Debate
Asiedu Nketia also expressed concern over the direction of the third-term debate, noting that it has become too focused on one individual. “This is because you don’t focus on one individual in making a law. If you do that, you’ll be making a mistake,” he explained.

He said he is offended when people narrow the debate to President Mahama alone, adding that the current thinking suggests being against a third term means being against Mahama, while being in favour means liking him.

Power alternation
The NDC chairman stressed that presidential term limits were introduced to ensure power alternation in Ghana.
He argued that both Presidents Rawlings and Kufuor could have won third terms had there been no limits, because they were both very popular when they left office.

“The time President Rawlings was exiting office, he was the most popular person in the country and could have won a third term if there were no term limits. Equally, at the time President Kufuor was exiting, he was very popular, and if the NPP had fielded him against Atta Mills, chances were that Kufuor would have won and remained. But because there was a presidential term limit, it forced the first, second, and third transitions,” he stated.

Prophecy
He also made reference to a prophecy in which a pastor reportedly said that if Asiedu Nketia decided to contest, he would win by 54 percent, but his only risk was that involving himself in the third-term debate could incur President Mahama’s anger, prompting the President to support another candidate to defeat him. “So all the 34 million Ghanaians can talk about a third term, except me?” he asked rhetorically.

However, he noted that the good news is President Mahama has publicly declared he is not interested in a third term.