Prophet Badu Kobi has claimed he was divinely directed to counsel the late President John Evans Atta Mills to select John Dramani Mahama as his running mate ahead of the 2008 general elections, a decision he says set Mahama on the path to the presidency.
Speaking on OKAY FM in Accra, Badu Kobi said Mills was initially hesitant to act on his counsel because the founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Jerry John Rawlings, had a preferred choice for the position in Betty Mould Iddrisu. The prophet said Mills left after the first conversation, had second thoughts and returned for further assurance before ultimately proceeding with Mahama.
Badu Kobi told Mills that the 2008 election was destined to go to Nana Akufo-Addo, but that selecting Mahama as running mate would alter that outcome. He said Mills acted against the grain of the party establishment and made the choice.
“God told me he had put John Mahama destiny in my care,” the prophet said, framing Mahama’s eventual rise to the presidency as the fulfilment of a divine plan that took root at that moment.
Mills and Mahama won the 2008 election, defeating the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in a narrow runoff. Mills died in office in July 2012 and Mahama was sworn in as president, later winning the 2012 election in his own right. He returned to the presidency in January 2025 after winning the 2024 general election.
Badu Kobi’s account frames the 2008 running mate selection as a prophetically orchestrated turning point in Ghanaian political history. The claims represent his personal account and have not been independently verified.
