The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has firmly ruled out the possibility of a public debate between his party’s flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, and the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

In an interview with C TV, Asiedu Nketiah stated unequivocally that the NDC has decided against Mahama engaging in any debate with Bawumia. “The NDC that I’m a national chairman of has said that President Mahama should not engage Bawumia in any debate, in any shape or form,” he said in Twi.

Explaining the rationale behind this decision, the NDC national chairman noted that any debate with a “fool” or a liar would yield no meaningful outcome. “There are two things that I have learnt from philosophy, which have guided the way I do politics. There are two categories of people that any sensible person should not debate; one is the fool or an idiot. Never argue with the fool because people would never know the difference. I hope it does not apply to His Excellency the Vice President because I don’t know him to be a fool.”

He continued, “Number two, never argue with a liar, you can’t win because they believe in their own lies. It is like wrestling with a swine in the mud, it would pull you into it (the mud).”

Leading figures of the NPP have claimed that former President Mahama is avoiding a debate with Bawumia out of fear of being bested. The Vice President himself has echoed this sentiment, stating, “I am looking forward to a debate with John Mahama on the economy and governance, but he is running away from a debate. His people say he doesn’t want to debate because he knows that I will expose the emptiness of his policies.”