Former President John Mahama has said a recent statement issued from his office by his former Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah, concerning a pronouncement made by Asante monarch Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at the UN General Assembly was in no way meant to denigrate the revered chief but to clarify that at no point in time did he (Mr Mahama) intended hanging on to power even after his defeat in the 2016 presidential election.

At the UN event, Otumfuo told the gathering that: “At the conclusion of the last presidential and parliamentary elections, the country stood on the edge of disaster. The UN Representatives and the Diplomatic community were aghast, alarmed that Ghana was about to slip down the slope of electoral violence.

“Fortunately, the moral authority of the Palace was at hand. We were able to intervene to persuade the losing candidate to accept his fate and fly both candidates for a quiet encounter to pave way for a smooth handover”.

In a response to the Otumfuo’s comment, Mr Debrah issued a statement saying: “I state without equivocation that the decision to concede and congratulate Nana Akufo-Addo even before the official results were declared was taken by President Mahama himself without any persuasion from any quarter. On the day President Mahama willingly conceded defeat, he met with then-Vice-President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, NDC Chairman Kofi Portuphy, General Secretary of the NDC Johnson Asiedu Nketia, together with some high-ranking members of the party and informed them of his decision to call and congratulate Nana Akufo-Addo”.

He recounted that: “Following the meeting with the party, he called a number of personalities including President Jerry John Rawlings, President John Agyekum Kufuor, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, National Chief Imam Sheikh Nuhu Sharubutu, Rev. Ernest Agyei of the Ringway Assemblies of God Church and Archbishop Duncan-Williams.

“As Otumfuo himself has already stated publicly, under his auspices, there were three meetings held in Kumasi between President Mahama and then-Candidate/President-Elect Nana Akufo-Addo during the period,” the statement said.

“The first was prior to the December 7 election in which the two candidates promised to play fair and respect the will of the people. Indeed, President Mahama in a conversation with Nana Akufo-Addo said he hoped Nana was not going to tie down the nation in a court case again after the 2016 elections.

“The other two meetings took place after the official declaration of the results of the elections, and to re-emphasise, after President Mahama had publicly conceded and congratulated Nana Akufo-Addo. Those two meetings focused on matters arising out of the transition process.

“President Mahama made a commitment to the people of Ghana, never to be the one to subject them to the periods of unease, political instability and the doubts they experienced after the 2008 and 2012 elections. He remained true to that commitment and exemplified it after the 2016 elections”.

Commenting on the development, Mr Mahama, who is the flag bearer of the main opposition National Democratic Congress for the 2020 general elections, said in a statement that: “The recent statement from my office was meant to shed more light on the events surrounding the 2016 poll and not to disparage Otumfuo's efforts at promoting national peace and unity. I, therefore, find the language and commentary in the ensuing public discourse very disturbing.

“Clearly Mr Julius Debrah's statement was intended to simply clarify that I never had the slightest intention of seeking to hang on to power unconstitutionally, as some media houses sought to infer from Otumfuo's speech at the UN.

“I have profound respect for Otumfuo and Asanteman and will not allow this issue to mar our long-standing cordial relationship. On Otumfuo's return home, we will take the necessary steps to bring closure to this matter. In the meantime, I urge the general public and party members not to be baited into non-constructive flogging of this issue”.