Revelations by Majority Leader and Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga have thrust President John Dramani Mahama’s potential third-term prospects back into national discourse, despite firm denials from both the President and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He disclosed that he would be duty-bound to champion a third-term bid for President Mahama if the party ever officially decided to pursue one.
According to him, loyalty to the party and his role as Leader of Government Business would supersede his personal reservations.
“If my party takes a decision that it is something they want to pursue, and if I initially oppose it but am unable to convince them otherwise, and they convince me of their position, then in my role as Leader of Government Business, I would be obliged to pursue it,” Ayariga stated.
“If I don’t accept, then I would have to resign,” he said while speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on December 10, 2025.
His remarks, though hypothetical, have reignited opposition accusations about a supposed third-term agenda within the governing party.
However, Ayariga was categorical that the NDC has no intention of pushing for any constitutional amendment to extend presidential term limits.
He suggested that the Minority’s persistent allegations were counterproductive and could inadvertently breathe life into an idea the NDC has repeatedly rejected.
“I think that the Minority are rather trying to incite us to do something that we have clearly said we are not thinking about now,” he said.
In recent months, the Minority Caucus and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have repeatedly accused the NDC government of attempting to influence state institutions to pave the way for a constitutional review enabling President Mahama to contest the 2028 elections.
Their claims intensified following a Tamale High Court ruling ordering a rerun of the 2024 Kpandai parliamentary elections, which they alleged was being manipulated to serve government interests.
Yet President Mahama has consistently and publicly dismissed any suggestion of a third-term ambition.
While on a three-day State Visit to Singapore, the President reaffirmed his commitment to Ghana’s constitutional limits, stating unambiguously that he will not be a candidate in the 2028 elections.
“I will not be a candidate in the next elections, and therefore I can hold the line when it comes to fiscal discipline,” he told his Singaporean counterpart, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Ghana’s 1992 Constitution is categorical on presidential term limits.
Article 66(1) prescribes a four-year term for an elected President, while Article 66(2) explicitly prohibits any individual from holding the office for more than two terms.
Nevertheless, speculation from opposition circles has persisted, fuelled by the ongoing constitutional review process and the historical fact that Mahama previously served as President from January 2013 to January 2017, before returning to office following the 2024 elections.
Ayariga’s comments, framed as a matter of party discipline rather than policy intention, may have inadvertently offered fresh ammunition to critics.
But the NDC’s official stance and President Mahama’s own public declarations remain unchanged: there is no third-term agenda on the table.
