Nigeria’s former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has congratulated Ghana’s President-elect, John Mahama, on his election triumph shortly after his major challenger, who also doubles as Ghana’s Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, called to concede defeat.
“Your Excellency, Mr. President-elect John Mahama, @JDMahama. My warmest congratulations on your victory,” Mr Abubakar posted on X Sunday morning. “I was told you were on your way to church and thought I could catch up with you before you entered the church for the Sunday service. Once again, kindly accept my hearty congratulations on your landslide victory. – AA”
President Bola Tinubu also congratulated Mr Mahama on his electoral victory.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, the president’s spokesperson, on Sunday write, “In a telephone call to Mahama, President Tinubu hoped that Mahama’s ascension to power for the second time would further bring stability to the Economic Community of West African States, of which President Tinubu is the chairman.
Congratulations have continued to pour in from all parts of the world after Mr Bawumia accepted the loss, even though the Electoral Commission of Ghana has yet to announce the official result.
Mr Bawumia, 61, said internal collation indicated that Mr Mahama won the polls in a victory similar to that of the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who defeated Vice President Kamala Harris at the November 5 polls.
“Let me say that the data from our own internal collation of the election results indicate that former President John Dramani Mahama has won the presidential election decisively,” Mr Bawumia said in his concession statement Sunday morning.
“The NDC (National Democratic Congress) has also won the parliamentary election. Even though we await final collation of a number of seats, I believe ultimately these will not change the outcome.”
Ghanaians believe that incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo’s eight-year term beset by economic crisis set his veep on a path to landslide loss as they were less likely to vote for a party that landed the nation in an economic mess compounded by soaring inflation and a high unemployment rate.
Citizens have blamed Mr Akufo-Addo for the economic crisis bedevilling Ghana, bemoaning prices of goods and services, particularly food, which have since doubled under his watch.
Mr Bawumia, who enjoyed the president’s blessing to become president, was beaten at the polls as Ghanaians believe he was also partly to blame for the nation’s economic woes given his party, New Patriotic Party (NPP), was the one in power.
Mr Mahama, 66, who lost his re-election bid to President Akufo-Addo in 2016, will again be sworn in to lead the West African nation in January.
