Ghana’s Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia and NPP presidential flagbearer, has excoriated former President John Mahama for using “indecent utterances”  not befitting a former leader.

A viral video of Mr Mahama at a campaign event captured him launching stinging attacks on chiefs, imams, pastors and CSOs, describing them as “hypocrites” for supporting the NPP and Mr Bawumia instead of joining forces with him and the NDC to push out the ruling party.

Addressing his supporters at a campaign event on Monday morning in Amasaman, in the Greater Accra Region, Mr Bawumia expressed shock at the unpresidential utterances of Mr Mahama, noting that the ex-president is frustrated because he has realised he will lose the forthcoming presidential election.

“You all know that this election is between former President Mahama and myself. But how the campaign is going, the former president has seen that he will lose massively, so any little thing, he gets angry,” Mr Bawumia said.

He added, “Today, I have heard that he has insulted pastors, imams, chiefs and CSOs. He says they are hypocrites. How can you say this? Is this how a former president should speak? That chiefs, the clergy, Imams and  CSOs are hypocrites?”

“Recently, he has also been insulting the electoral commission. And he said the NPP government is a foolish government.  Are these utterances that should be coming out of the mouth of a former president? How can a former President make such indecent comments?”

Mr Bawumia reiterated that politicians have a responsibility to be decent in their utterances, stressing that the election is about issues and ideas and only those without ideas insult other people.

“We, politicians, must have some decency in the language we speak,” Mr Bawumia stated.

The vice-president added, “This election is not about insults. It is about ideas. You only insult people when you do not have ideas. But if you have ideas, you present your ideas. We have ideas, and we have bold solutions to problems.”