Leaking Mahama's bungalow letter was to divert Akufo-Addo's plagiarism debate - NDC

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration of attempting to divert attention from President Akufo-Addo's plagiarised inaugural speech.

According to the party, the leaking of former President John Mahama's request letter for the bungalow as his retirement home and portraying him as refusing to move out from his official residence were all diversionary tactics.

Mr Mahama on Wednesday rescinded his request to remain in his official residence because of the threat it posed to the spirit of cooperation between the out-gone NDC administration and the NPP government.

In his withdrawal letter, Mr Mahama maintained that he had an agreement with the incoming administration on the choice of his retirement accommodation and office

However, the National Chairman of the NDC, Mr Kofi Portuphy and the General Secretary, Mr John Asiedu Nketia in separate addresses at a press conference on Thursday accused the NPP of demonstrating bad faith.

They said how the NPP has handled President Mahama's retirment package was a "crude and ugly attempt" to divert attention from Akufo-Addo's plagiarism.

Mr Portuphy asked President Akufo-Addo to apologise to Ghanaians for his intellectual dishonesty rather than continue to show bad faith after a smooth hand over of power.

He said, "Ladies and gentlemen of the media, now the issue of the brouhaha over accommodation for former President Mahama. The exhibition of extreme bad faith by the NPP administration is nothing but a crude and ugly attempt to divert attention from the gross embarrassment Nana Akufo-Addo has brought upon himself and Kwame Nkrumah's Ghana via the shameful plagiarism that characterized his inaugural speech."

The NDC Chairman continued, "We wish to assure Nana Akufo-Addo that no amount of bad faith he exhibits will wipe away the heaps of shame and disgrace he has brought on himself and Kwame Nkrumah's Ghana."

"Indeed, Nana Akufo-Addo is better off apologising to the good people of Ghana for his improper conduct of intellectual dishonesty and academic fraud, rather than continuing to show bad faith after a smooth transfer of the authority of state to him".