The Deputy General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande, has accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of deliberately promoting claims that President John Mahama is seeking a third term in office as part of a strategy to sow division within the governing party.

Speaking in response to persistent speculation over a possible third-term agenda, Mr Gbande dismissed the claims as baseless, insisting the narrative was an NPP creation aimed at distracting the NDC and reviving the opposition's political fortunes.

"Third term discussion is a creation of the NPP to hang our system, to divide us, and to exploit same to seek to build their collapsed party, which we deny and we run away from, he said in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday, August 6.

According to him, official communication from President Mahama to the NDC is conducted through the party's established structures, particularly the National Council, and not through remarks made at public events or media engagements.

He explained that comments made by National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia have been misconstrued, stressing that the discussion relates to an intellectual and legal debate over whether President Mahama's interrupted tenure and subsequent return to office raise constitutional questions for judicial interpretation, rather than any attempt to pursue a third presidential term.

Mr Gbande noted that while differing legal opinions exist on the issue, the NDC has no third-term agenda and remains focused on governance.

"The issue of third term is not a third term, but there is a conversation which is debatable."

He maintained that the controversy is being deliberately sustained by the NPP to create confusion within the governing party and divert attention from its own internal challenges.