The 2024 Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, former President John Dramani Mahama, has justified the concerns raised by his party’s National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia regarding the signing of peace pacts ahead of elections.

Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, while speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Thursday, August 15, expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of such agreements, citing past experiences.

He suggested that the NDC will not commit to the signing of the pact this year.

“Signing a peace declaration doesn’t mean anything to the party, as previous pacts have not yielded any real results,” Asiedu Nketia stated.

The National Peace Council has since taken note of the NDC’s concerns and has pledged to engage the party to address them, while the governing party has condemned the party.

Speaking at a media encounter in the Volta Regional capital, Ho, on Friday, August 16, Mr Mahama clarified that the party has not officially taken a decision not to sign the pact.

“I read the statement made by our Chairman [Asiedu Nketia] this morning and even though it is not a decision that we have sat and taken, I can understand the position that he’s coming from."

"He’s [Asiedu Nketia] talking about justice and saying that we should not glorify just signing a peace pact without acting to make sure that peace exists. Because when we sign a peace pact and people gun down eight of our compatriots and nobody cares, no investigation, and no compensation is paid, then what was the use of signing the peace pact? So, I can understand where he’s coming from, but of course, we haven’t sat and taken a definite decision on that.

The former President noted that it was high time the relevant stakeholders focused more on the right building blocks required for peace to be achieved rather than merely signing a peace pact.

“I do think that those who normally clamour about signing peace pacts, getting us to go to Movenpick Hotel, serve small chops and drinks and then we think that just by signing that paper everything is going to be okay, he’s just telling them that everything will not be okay unless we go farther than just the signature on the peace pact. So I think that’s the message he’s sending” he noted.