Former President John Dramani Mahama has replied to a request for him to cease receiving monthly ex-gratia immediately if he wants to be trusted by promising to abolish the end-of-service lump sum payment if re-elected president.
The latest to make the call being Nana Akomea, a former lawmaker and current Managing Director of Intercity STC; who also alleged on radio that the former president was receiving monthly ex-gratia.
Mahama via a social media post lamented Akomea’s views stating thus: “Really sad what politics can do to a fine mind,” referring to Nana Akomea as “my friend.”
He clarified that as a former president he receives a monthly pension and not ex-gratia as Akomea had claimed.
“My friend Nana Akomea. Really sad what politics can do to a fine mind! I don’t take ex-gratia. I receive a monthly pension,” Mahama’s May 26, 2023 post read.
My friend Nana Akomea. Really sad what politics can do to a fine mind!
I don’t take ex-gratia. I receive a monthly pension.
— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) May 26, 2023
What did Akomea say?
Speaking recently on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo morning show, Akomea submitted: “Let me give him one challenge, just one challenge, Togbe Afede said that for him he doesn’t believe in ex-gratia as a Council of State member, so what did he do?
“The ex-gratia that they gave him, he returned them to the government…after returning the money to the government, President Mahama praised him for doing that, saying he is a man of principle…so it means that Togbe Afede has principles by returning the ex-gratia.
“President Mahama, today if you claim you don’t believe in the ex-gratia, the ones that you have taken, we know that you have spent it already, so, we can’t say that go and bring it…
“but the challenge I am giving to him is that the ones that he will be taking from this month May, he shouldn’t take it, he should stop taking the ex-gratia, the same way Togbe Afede stopped and returned his own, he should follow the same principle,” he said.