Don't Be Swayed By Vain Promises, MP Tells Delegates

Member of Parliament for the Takoradi constituency in the Western Region, Hon. Kobby Okyere Darko Mensah, has appealed to the 140,000 plus delegates of the New Patriotic Party who will be voting in Saturday�s NPP presidential primary not to be swayed by the monetary inducements and vain promises being made by some presidential aspirants. Speaking to delegates from the Bia East, Bia West, Sefwi Wiawso, Sefwi Akontombra, Juaboso, Bodi, and Bibiani-Anhwaiso-Bekwai constituencies, who had gathered in Juaboso, at a meeting between Nana Akufo-Addo and the delegates, he recounted how the NDC and President Mahama played similar tricks on Ghanaians in the run-up to the 2012 elections only for them to �mess us up when they got power.� �Don�t be swayed by money and the promises of bicycles, motorbikes and mobile phones that some candidates are making only to get your votes. We saw the GH�50 notes the NDC put in match boxes before the 2012 elections. Some people voted for NDC because of that and look at where Ghana finds herself in. Please, the NPP cannot afford such a mistake on Saturday. We need a tried and tested leader, and that man is Nana Akufo-Addo,� the Takoradi MP noted. Citing statistics from the 2012 elections, Hon. Okyere Darko wondered how some members of the NPP, in their bid to lead the party, are saying Nana Akufo-Addo is not marketable and the reason why he lost the 2012 election. �The votes Nana AKufo-Addo received were more than the total votes received by all NPP MPs. Likewise, the votes received by all NPP MPs was more than the vote tally of all NDC MPs by over 120,000 votes. We all saw what transpired at the Supreme Court. Nana Akufo-Addo won election 2012, and if we need someone to lead us to victory in 2016, it is Nana Akufo-Addo,� Hon. Okyere Darko stated. The Takoradi MP assured the delegates from the 8 Sefwi constituencies, whose mainstay is cocoa farming, that Nana Akufo-Addo is the man to ensure a boom in the cocoa industry, as it happened from 2001 to 2008in Kufuor�s time. �If we need someone to rescue Ghana�s cocoa industry, if we need someone to restore Sefwi to its rightful position in Ghana, it is Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. We don�t have time for experiments in 2016. We need a tried and tested leader to bring us victory, to deliver free SHS, and ensure the youth find employment,� he said. He continued, �All Ghanaians want is for the NPP to win power and for Nana Akufo-Addo to become president in 2017. Meanwhile, some are saying they are the ones to bring NPP to power, and because of that they are now promising all manner of things. Ghanaians say we should bring Nana Akufo-Addo, so would we bring someone else?� he asked, to which the empathic answer from the delegates was a loud �No.� No sympathy votes on October 18 Former Minister of Health under the Kufuor-led NPP administration, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, appealed to delegates gathered to vote massively for Nana Akufo-Addo, and eschew the tendency of casting sympathy votes for any of the other aspirants on Saturday. �Don�t vote for Alan or Addai Nimo because you feel sorry for them, that they may lose miserably. There must be no sympathy votes, I plead with you. We need to send a clear message to Ghanaians that Nana Akufo-Addo is the man the NPP wants. Ghanaians say they want Nana Akufo-Addo, so NPP members must give them Nana Akufo-Addo,� Dr. Kwaku Afriyie added. Re-echoing sentiments shared by the former Health Minister, Western Regional Chairman of the NPP, Mr. Atta Nketia, recalled that Nana Akufo-Addo�s decision to contest the primary was because of the pressure brought to bear on him by the rank and file of the NPP and Ghanaians at large. Chairman Atta Nketia added that if Nana Akufo-Addo is now contesting, then it is incumbent on members of the NPP to vote massively for Nana Akufo-Addo, and ensure that they work hard to make sure Nana Akufo-Addo wins the 2016 election. Present at the meeting were, amongst others, Hon. Joe Ghartey, MP for Essikadu Ketan and 2nd Deputy Speaker of Parliament; Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, former Minister of Health; Chairman Atta Nketiah, Western Regional NPP Chairman; Hon. Eugenia Gifty Kusi, MP for Tarkwa Nsuaem; Hon. Aboagye Gyedu, MP for Bibiani Ahnwiaso Bekwai; Hon. Kobby Okyere Darko Mensah, MP for Takoradi; Hon. J.B. Aidoo, former Western Regional Minister; Hon. Mireku Duker, former DCE for Tarkwa; Mr. Akwasi Amankwah, NPP Chairman for Juaboso; Mr. Anthony Amankwah, NPP Chairman for Sefwi Wiawso; Mr. Michael Yankoah, NPP Chairman for Bodi; and over 3,000 delegates from the 8 Sefwi constituencies.