In a letter to President Akufo-Addo, Mr Amidu said former President John Mahama’s retirement residence and office saga nearly cost the sitting President well-meaning supporters both in his political party and among ordinary citizens of goodwill.

Mr Amidu said Ghanaians exhibited a great deal of goodwill for President Akufo-Addo to succeed as President.

“I have no reason to doubt that as long as you always put Ghana first in your administration, the present goodwill you enjoy will endure throughout your tenure. My humble observation from some of your recent pronouncements and acts as President, however, is that you appear to trust so many people without any reservations,” he said.

The immediate past Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah, had earlier written a letter on behalf of former President Mahama requesting for the President to continue to stay in his official residence at Cantonments in Accra.

However, the representative of President Akufo-Addo on the transition team, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, denied that an agreement had been reached for the President to continue to live in that residence as part of his packages.

The issue generated a lot of debate, with many people attacking the person of the former President, forcing him to withdraw his request for the residence.

Preconceived plan

Mr Amidu, who has fallen out with his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said the ordinary Ghanaian was quick to see that Mahama had with preconceived malice planned for years to take the vice-president’s residence for himself as his lifelong retirement home right after Professor Mills’ demise.

“Even the ordinary Ghanaian sitting in the Madina “tro tro” bus realised that Mahama’s scheme of remaining in the Vice-President’s official residence instead of moving to the presidential residence at the Flag Staff House was part of his pre-meditated and internalised looting behaviour of state assets,” it said.

Destiny in your hands

Mr Amidu said in the coming four years, President Akufo-Addo’s fate for the success or failure of the management of Ghana “is solely in your own and exclusive hands.”

He said the experiences of the majority of Ghanaians in the immediate past few years had generated tremendous support and enthusiasm for the President to save the country within the next four years.

Shun sycophants

Mr Amidu said the prime credit for successfully managing last year’s elections went first and foremost to the Supreme Court of Ghana for narrowing the windows for rigging and second to the vigilance of ordinary Ghanaians against that type of looting which must be acknowledged by the international community and not reframed.

He said he had read several written statements by fellow citizens showing the usual euphoria of victory in trying to eulogise President Akufo-Addo even before he could execute any of his promised development plans, adherence to the rule of law and good governance systems.

“Such unintended sycophancy is the greatest danger facing African leaders, including Ghana, with numerous examples of the hallelujah, hallelujah today and cries of crucify him, crucify him tomorrow.”

“Remember always that governance as a human enterprise is susceptible to unforeseen natural contingencies that affect every human endeavour whatever one’s good intentions and wishes. It works like applying quantum mechanics theory in social and political interactions,” he said.

Anti-corruption posture

Mr Amidu said he agreed entirely with former President Jerry John Rawlings that it was the high anti-corruption moral ground that President Akufo-Addo occupied over the NDC which made his victory a foregone conclusion.

“Many Ghanaians, like me, are not followers of your political party but I dare say that as long as you continue occupying that high moral ground and fight corruption in deed, you will succeed and your first four-year tenure will usher in the golden age of Ghana again,” he added.