The Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, has taken a swipe at the New Patriotic Party (NPP), declaring that the stench of corruption from its eight-year rule still lingers in Ghana’s governance system.
Contributing to the debate on the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review on Monday, Hon. Murtala, who also serves as the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, used a striking proverb to underscore his point.
“The one who sleeps with an itching anus wakes up with smelly fingers. The mess you created still lingers—and everyone can smell it,” he said.
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According to him, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government under President John Dramani Mahama is working hard to clean up the rot left behind by the NPP administration. He assured that by the second and third years of the current government’s mandate, Ghanaians would bid the NPP a permanent farewell.
Murtala described the previous administration as one plagued by deep-seated corruption, gross incompetence, and economic mismanagement, which he said subjected Ghanaians to unprecedented hardship.
He accused the Akufo-Addo-led government of turning the presidency into a citadel of corruption, citing allegations by an NPP flagbearer aspirant that access to the President required a $20,000 payment.
“Isn’t that shameful? These are not my words. These are the words of your leading member. That is how bad it got,” he emphasised.
He contrasted the leadership styles of President Mahama and former President Akufo-Addo, asserting that while Mahama is committed to fighting corruption, Akufo-Addo’s presidency fostered bribery and nepotism.
“The difference is apparent,” he stressed. “While President Mahama fights corruption, President Akufo-Addo’s office became a fortress for bribery.”
He further accused the previous administration of sabotaging agriculture by selling fertiliser marked ‘Not for Sale’ to struggling farmers.
“You destroyed every sector of this economy,” he charged.
While acknowledging that the NDC government is continuing some NPP-initiated policies, he was quick to add that it has completely rejected the corruption that plagued them.
He also criticised the NPP for failing to acknowledge the strides made under the Mahama administration, especially in stabilising the economy and improving livelihoods.
Taking a jab at the NPP’s past claim that it had arrested the dollar, Murtala said the claim was mere rhetoric.
“We were told the dollar had been arrested and locked up at the Police Headquarters, but under our watch, we have truly brought the dollar to order, and it’s not a fluke.”
Hon. Murtala also aimed at the Minority in Parliament for focusing on economic jargon that means little to the average Ghanaian.
“We can speak all the big grammar and economic jargon, but my grandmother in the village selling porridge isn’t interested in that. The people want to feel change in their pockets.”
He cited the stabilising cedi and declining food inflation as early results of the NDC’s economic recovery plan, despite being only in the first year of implementation.
“We haven’t even applied the second year of our economic strategy, yet Ghanaians are already feeling the change,” he said.
He called for national commitment to honesty and accountability, declaring that Ghana deserves better, and the NDC is delivering with action, not noise.