President John Dramani Mahama has come under intense scrutiny for redirecting the official website of the Presidency, presidency.gov.gh, to his personal platform, johnmahama.org.
The move, which was observed shortly after his inauguration on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, has raised concerns about administrative propriety, national security, and legal accountability.
The issue gained public attention when X user Richard Wiafe criticized the redirection, accusing Ghanaians of applying double standards.
In his post, Wiafe expressed frustration over what he described as selective outrage, stating:
“Mahama has redirected the official Presidency website presidency.gov.gh to his personal site & Ghanaians are silent.
If Akuffo Addo had done this, the ‘neutrals’ would be screaming corruption, abuse of power, but because it’s their favorite, it’s suddenly acceptable. Hypocrites!”
This sparked a heated debate online, with many users echoing Wiafe’s sentiments and calling for clarity on the President’s decision.
Adding to the controversy, legal and governance experts have voiced serious concerns about the implications of the redirection.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a private legal practitioner and convenor of the Fix the Country Movement, labeled the action as an administrative failure that could jeopardize the integrity of national infrastructure.
In a statement shared on January 10, 2025, Barker-Vormawor stated:
“The official Government of Ghana Presidency domain, presidency.gov.gh, has been redirected to President John Dramani Mahama’s campaign website, johnmahama.org.
This is pretty unfortunate and flies against everything administratively proper.
In fact, this offends our national security strategy, if not several laws.”
He further emphasized that the Presidency’s website is part of Ghana’s Critical National Information Infrastructure and should not be used for political purposes or redirected to private platforms.
According to him, such an act would require access to sensitive backend systems and approval from high-ranking officials who ought to have exercised better judgment.
Barker-Vormawor called for an investigation into the incident, insisting that the Presidency issue a public apology and restore the functionality of the official domain.
He also stressed the need for rigorous checks and legal consultations before implementing decisions that could violate administrative or legal protocols.
Mahama has redirected the official presidency website https://t.co/xpQhbC5lTL to his personal site & Ghanaians are silent. If Akuffo Addo had done this, the ‘neutrals’ would be screaming corruption, abuse of power but bcos it’s their favorite it’s suddenly acceptable.
Hypocrites!— Richard Wiafe (@KwabenaAgyema) January 11, 2025
