Joyce Bawah Mogtari dismisses claims of familial ties between Callistus Mahama and President-elect

The Special Aide to President-elect John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has refuted allegations suggesting that Dr Callistus Mahama, a member of the President-elect's Transition Team, is related to Mr Mahama.  

In a Facebook post on Thursday, December 12, 2024, Madam Mogtari categorically described the claims as unfounded and clarified that the appointment of Dr Callistus Mahama was based solely on merit.  

She stated, “Dr Callistus Abukari Mahama has no familial relations with the President-elect, H.E. John Dramani Mahama! Kindly take note.” 

"Please who has the list of Family& Friends of the Current President and yes,note also that some people screaming now, never joined the NDC in our criticism of the government!" she added in another post.

The comments come amid speculation in some sections of the media that Dr Mahama's appointment as Secretary of the 2024 Transition Team was influenced by supposed family connections.  

President-elect Mahama has named Dr Callistus Mahama as the secretary of his Transition Team, co-chaired by former Chief of Staff Julius Debrah.

Profile of Dr Callistus Mahama

Dr Callistus Mahama holds a PhD in Land Law and an MPhil in Land Economy, both from the University of Cambridge, UK. He also earned a BSc in Land Economy from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana.  

Until January 2017, Dr Mahama served as the Head of the Local Government Service, overseeing a workforce of approximately 45,000. In this role, he spearheaded the implementation of Ghana’s Administrative Decentralisation policy and supported local authorities in performing their decentralised functions effectively.  

Additionally, he coordinated the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCC) Secretariat, an apex body established to drive Ghana’s decentralisation agenda under the chairmanship of the President of Ghana.