New Patriotic Party (NPP) politician Akosua Manu has accused the government of using arrests, bail conditions and state institutions to silence opposition voices, alleging that the moves are part of a broader plan to create room for President John Dramani Mahama to seek a third term in office.
Miss Manu (aka Kozie), who is the spokesperson for the NPP’s Sub-Committee on Gender and Social Protection, made the claims on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana amid growing political debate over a case before the Supreme Court seeking an interpretation of Ghana’s presidential term limit.
She linked the recent arrest of Dennis Miracles Aboagye, an aide to NPP flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, to what she described as a pattern of intimidation against critics of the government.
Third-Term Plot
Manu alleged that the arrest of opposition figures and what she described as “obscene bail conditions” were aimed at weakening resistance to government policies.
“The pattern of arresting dissenters and levying obscene bail conditions on them is just but a move to silence or gag the opposition,” she said.
According to her, the opposition remains the strongest voice challenging government actions, but alleged that some civil society groups that previously criticised governments have become less vocal.
She warned that Ghanaians must remain vigilant against any attempt to alter constitutional safeguards.
“This is paving the way for a third-term agenda,” she claimed.
“We have to protect this country and ensure that if that provision is removed, we are not saddled with one savage dictator who has come through a democratically elected government.”
Supreme Court Storm
The controversy follows a suit filed at the Supreme Court by Ganiwu Alhassan, a teacher from Kpandai in the Northern Region.
The plaintiff is seeking an interpretation of Article 66(2) of the 1992 Constitution, arguing that the provision bars only two consecutive presidential terms rather than two terms served at different periods.
The case has drawn attention because President John Dramani Mahama is currently serving his second term, having previously occupied the presidency from 2012 to 2017, before former President Nana Akufo-Addo’s eight-year administration.
Mahama has repeatedly stated that he has no intention of seeking a third term or amending the Constitution to enable one.
Gabby Warns
The debate over presidential term limits has also attracted criticism from NPP lawyer and political strategist Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko.
Otchere-Darko argued that a legal interpretation allowing only two consecutive presidential terms would effectively remove Ghana’s lifetime two-term restriction.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he warned that such an interpretation could allow presidents to repeatedly seek office after losing elections.
He illustrated a scenario where a president who completes two non-consecutive terms could return to the ballot after a break, potentially contesting elections in future cycles.
“If he wins in 2032, he could contest again in 2036 because, according to this theory, he still would not have served two consecutive terms,” he wrote.
He added that such a reading could allow further presidential bids in later years.
“If he then loses in 2036, why stop there? He could run again in 2040, and if he wins, he could still seek another term in 2044 because only then would he have completed two back-to-back terms,” Otchere-Darko said.
He described the argument as “not interpreting the Constitution” but “rewriting it”.
Disquiet In NDC
Former NDC Deputy General Secretary Samuel Koku Anyidoho has also weighed into the debate, urging his party not to support any individual seeking to contest the presidency for a third time.
In a post on X, Anyidoho said the NDC should not become a vehicle for what he described as an attempt to undermine Ghana’s democratic system.
“The NDC shall not be a vehicle for carrying the obnoxious ambition of any individual on a selfish journey of destroying Ghana’s fledgling democracy,” he wrote.
He said even if the Supreme Court ruled that a former president who has served two separate terms could contest again, the NDC should refuse to endorse such a candidacy.
“If the person likes, he or she can form his or her own political party or contest as an independent candidate,” Anyidoho added.
No Third-Term Plans
President Mahama has consistently rejected suggestions that he intends to seek another term beyond his current mandate.
The government has also not responded to Manu’s allegations that state actions are connected to a third-term agenda.
The Supreme Court is yet to determine the constitutional interpretation case, a ruling that could have significant implications for Ghana’s future presidential contests.
