Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader of Parliament, has predicted that by mid 2026, President John Mahama will become a lame-duck president.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the NDC is divided; he alleged that the party has its candidate while the presidency is also fielding its own candidate for the elections.
Afenyo-Markin alleged that Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has chosen Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of Education, as her running mate.
The minority leader alleged that President Mahama will become a lame-duck president because the NDC will be fighting over who succeeds him.
Speaking at a press conference on January 26, 2026, Afenyo-Markin stated, “The NDC also have a leadership contest ahead of them, which is very messy.
The NDC is divided because of power. Today, Asiedu Nketiah says he is going on a ‘thank you’ tour; what we have seen is that the government has its own preferred candidate for the flagbearer and the party also have their own choice of flagbearer”.
Afenyo-Markin further added, “ By mid-year, President Mahama will become a lame-duck president because everyone is fighting for power. The Vice President also wants to become president. Recently, we heard that she has chosen Haruna Iddrisu as her running mate”.
“We have also heard that the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, is going to contest, and his running mate is Fifii Kwetey, the NDC General Secretary. The majority leader and Ablakwa are also doing their personal permutation. Also, the finance minister is preparing his running mate”.
Meanwhile, Paul Adom-Otchere had claimed President John Mahama has identified Ato Forson and John Jinapor as his preferred NDC candidates for the 2028 elections.
According to Adom-Otchere, John Mahama is backing Ato Forson following his performance in handling the Ghanaian economy as Finance Minister.
Adom-Otchere described the ticket of Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and John Abdulai Jinapor as the president’s ticket.
Speaking on his Good Evening Ghana show on October 31, 2025, Adom-Otchere alleged, “This is President Mahama’s ticket, from what we are hearing, Cassiel Forson, the finance minister… He’s been told that if he continues doing what he’s doing until the end of next year, he will be the anointed choice of John Mahama as the next flagbearer of the NDC”
Who is going to be his running mate, our good friend John Jinapor, member of parliament and minister for Energy. The two ways the NDC want to say they are doing well in government are one of them, energy, and the other is finance”.
He added, “Ato Forson will tell you that the cedi was 17, it is now 10, it’s a feather in his cap. He will tell you gold reserves have improved and petroleum prices have been stabilised”.
He further alleged that Cassiel Ato Forson has his eyes set on becoming the leader of the NDC.
“Cassiel Ato Forson is firmly focused on becoming the leader of the NDC, the presidential candidate of the NDC, going forward to the 2028 election, and his running mate is John Jinapor.
“John Jinapor, they call him ‘JJ’ in Parliament, and he’s the deal. The two of them, Ato Forson and Jinapor, are the president’s ticket. Forget about everything else,” Adom-Otchere asserted.
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The NDC has forgotten it has a leadership race ahead; theirs will be messy – Afenyo-Markin.#JoyNews pic.twitter.com/IwBzpCuXYo
— JoyNews (@JoyNewsOnTV) January 26, 2026