The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Atta-Mills Institute and former national executive of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Koku Anyidoho, has criticized the party’s flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, over his pledge to introduce a National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving if elected President.
The former President, speaking to traditional rulers in the Volta Regional capital, Ho, on Wednesday, August 14, announced his intention to introduce a day on which Ghanaians would offer prayers and thanksgiving to their respective objects of worship.
“Even though God expect us to work hard to improve our circumstances, also recognize that spiritually you must intercede for God to open the gates for you and so in the United States, in Zambia and so many countries I have been to, I have been invited to a National thanksgiving and prayers dedication and so we intend to introduce a national day of prayer and thanksgiving,” the NDC flagbearer said.
He added that Ghanaians “will give thanks to God for all that God has done for us because he said count your blessings and if you appreciate what the Lord has done for you he will do even more for you.”
However, in reaction to the pledge, the former presidential staffer accused Mahama of deceiving Ghanaians.
He claimed that the National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving had been introduced by the late John Evans Atta-Mills and was observed from 2009 until 2012, when, according to him, Mr. Mahama canceled it.
“…stop the gross deception [because] President Atta-Mills introduced the National Day of Prayer & Thanksgiving (2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012) [held at] Independence Square. You took over as President & canceled it,” Mr. Anyidoho wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
He added, “If you [Mahama] want to re-introduce it, say so but don’t say you will introduce it.”