John Dramani Mahama, the 2024 Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has commented on the controversial ‘Agyapadie’ document. This document, which has surfaced in both traditional and social media, supposedly outlines strategies for a particular “family” or “clan” to dominate various sectors in Ghana, including the economy, politics, media, judiciary, telecommunications, and banking.
The 38-page document features prominent figures such as the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, President Nana Akufo-Addo, and his late father. Its contents have drawn significant attention, particularly as some events in Ghanaian politics seem to align with its predictions. Although the document has been around for over eight years, it has gained renewed attention with only four months left until the general elections.
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has vehemently discredited the document, accusing their political opponents of fabricating it to tarnish their reputation. President Akufo-Addo, speaking at the Ghana Report Summit themed ‘Dealing with Misinformation and Disinformation in the Upcoming Election,’ claimed the document was part of a plot to damage his image ahead of the elections. The Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, has also dismissed the document as a complete fiction, created by those who wish to stir hate against his household and Okyeman.
However, during his campaign tour of the Upper East Region, former President Mahama insisted that, despite the document’s purported fabrication, its contents have been implemented under President Akufo-Addo’s regime. Speaking at the Bawku Naba’s palace, Mahama emphasized the need to hold the current government accountable for what he described as the hardships and state capture experienced over the last eight years.
Mahama stated, “We need to hold this government accountable for the hardships they’ve subjected Ghana to. For the state capture they’ve implemented in Ghana over the last eight years. Buying state property, buying all the government lands, and amassing wealth for themselves.”
He continued, “Recently there was a document called ‘Agyapadie’ and they said it’s fabricated. But even if it’s fabricated, the implementation is not fabricated because everything that is written in that document has been implemented.”
The former president questioned how someone could fabricate such a document and still predict the actions of President Akufo-Addo and his family accurately. “If really somebody sat and fabricated that document, then the person can really read the minds of people because how they could have written that document and read the minds of Akufo-Addo and his family that this is what they were going to do, then that person is a proper creative writer because everything in that document has been implemented, and so the implementation cannot be fabricated.”
Mahama also suggested that President Akufo-Addo’s reluctance to hand over power to him is due to fear of being held accountable for these actions. He claimed that the current president prefers his vice president to take over to cover their tracks. “That is why Nana Addo says he will not hand over to John Dramani Mahama because he knows that when I come, I will hold him and his family and his government accountable for what they’ve done. And so, they want their Vice President to take over from them so that he can come and cover their backs. It is not going to happen, NDC is going to win the elections.”
The document’s origins remain unclear, and its authorship is unknown. Despite this, its impact on the political narrative is undeniable. The NPP continues to assert that the document is a fabrication by their opponents, intended to sow discord and mistrust among the electorate. On the other hand, the NDC insists that the document’s predictions have come to pass, suggesting a deliberate strategy by the current government to consolidate power.
