I never said NPP will govern for 8 years – Mogtari Bawa

The spokesperson for former president John Mahama, Joyce Mogtari Bawa, has denied ever saying she would not mind if the New Patriotic Party governs for eight years.
In a press statement, the former deputy transport minister said the quote being attributed to her is false and put out her own version.

She said: “In response to a question about the plans of HE John Mahama, I indicated that I have had no discussions with him about contesting the next elections, and added that whether he contests the 2020 or the 2024 elections, he will still be a relatively young man and able to contest.

“The host of the show then interjected to ask whether that meant I “know the NPP will have eight (8) years”, to which I responded that it won’t really matter because among others, that is the beauty of our democracy.
“The above cannot, by a stretch of anyone’s imagination, be a statement from me, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, that the NDC is not ready for 2020 or that I will be happy with an 8-year rule for the NPP.”

On Wednesday, March 8, she was quoted as saying she won’t be bothered should the NPP stay in power for eight years.

“Well, I don’t really mind if NPP rules for eight (8) years, it’s democracy and really not an issue. When they lost, you can imagine how they felt when we moved into Flagstaff House and I know the feeling… We’ve all been there and that is the beauty of our democracy,” she said on Accra-based Starr FM.
Since then, she has been bastardised by leading figures in the NDC as derailing the effort of the party to win back power in 2020.
In her press statement, Mogtari Bawa made it clear that she is not a spokesperson for the NDC.

“I have read with some disappointment, news reports attributed to some officials of our party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), in which I am accused of stating among others that the NDC is not ready for the 2020 national elections,” she said.
“While no such statement was uttered by me on the Starr Chat, a personality chat show on March 08, 2017, let me also state, that I have never stated or ever claimed that I am the Spokesperson for the NDC or that I speak for the party,” she added.
“I remain a proud member of the NDC. My presence on the Starr Chat was, however, in my personal capacity on the occasion of the 2017 International Women’s Day,” she said.