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Commercial activities in the New Edubiase and Adansi Asokwa constituencies, both in the Ashanti Region, came to a standstill on Friday, October 15, as Nana Akufo-Addo, the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, took his �Rise and Build Tour� to the two constituencies. Hundreds of residents at New Edubiase, the first constituency Nana Akufo-Addo visited, lined the principal streets and gave Nana Akufo-Addo and his entourage a tumultuous welcome never witnessed by the party in the constituency. Tumultuous welcomes have been permanent features of Nana Akufo-Addo�s tour of all regions visited so far. Eager to catch a glimpse of the NPP flagbearer and his team as they made their way into the Community Centre to interact with leaders of some identifiable groups in the constituency, market women abandoned their wares, drivers at the main station parked their cars, as chants of �Nana oo Nana� echoed around the meeting place. With hundreds of residents already taking their seats at a packed auditorium of the community centre, hundreds who could not make their way into the community centre waited patiently outside the premises desperate to see the man they believe will rebuild Ghana once again, and take them out of the harsh conditions of living they have been plunged into by the Mahama-led NDC government. The emergence of George Oduro, the NPP�s parliamentary candidate for the constituency, who is also referred to as �Special� by his constituents, also accounted for the enthusiasm and outpouring of support for the NPP flagbearer, leading many to conclude that the NPP could emerge victorious, for the first time in the party�s history, in both the presidential and parliamentary elections in the constituency. In his remarks to business owners and self-employed people at the meeting, Nana Akufo-Addo assured the people of New Edubiase of better times ahead for the nation when he and the NPP are voted into office in the 2016 elections. According to him, the state Ghana finds herself in requires that Ghana�s vote in people who will work for Ghana to succeed. It is only the NPP, he said, who can bring prosperity, employment for the youth and progress for all, adding that the NPP has the men and women who can give this nation good and effective government. The Better Ghana mantra agenda of the ruling NDC, according to Nana Addo, has collapsed as the only thing Ghanaians are witnessing is bad governance which has brought in its wake hardships and poverty. "Businesses are collapsing, our educational system is in disarray. When someone is sick, it becomes a heart-wrenching issue, because our healthcare system is in a mess. This is not the Ghana the NPP left in January 2009," he stated. With the predominant activity in the constituency being agriculture, Nana Akufo-Addo explained that his government will provide the much needed support for Ghana�s declining agricultural sector, and at the same time ensure the rapid industrialisation of the Ghanaian economy. This, he maintained, will move the nation from a being a mere producer and exporter of raw materials, to an economy that will add value to its raw materials. This, Akufo-Addo added, is the sure way of creating the hundreds of thousands of jobs needed for the growing masses of unemployed youth. Adansi Asokwa At Adansi Asokwa, hundreds of residents braved the cold weather brought in by an approaching storm and gathered at the main minibus and taxi terminal to meet Nana Akufo-Addo, as he made his way into the constituency from New Edubiase. Accompanied by National Organiser, John Boadu; National Women�s Organiser, Otiko Afisa Djaba; Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiko; former presidential aspirant, Alan Kyerematen; MP for Adansi Asokwa, Hon. K.T Hammond, amongst a host of other party stalwarts, Nana Akufo-Addo addressed a mini-rally He reassured the gathering, which included taxi drivers, market women and small business owners, that his government, God-willing, from 2017 will create the necessary conditions needed for their businesses to flourish. He explained that the crippling economic situation prevailing in Ghana is as a result of the gross economic mismanagement and widespread corruption the country has been plunged into under 7 years of incompetence on the part of the NDC-led government. There was, however, hope for them, Nana Akufo-Addo said. Victory for the NPP next year will restore hope. However, Nana Akufo-Addo noted that without the active support of the gathering towards ensuring that the NPP wins the 2016 election, these plans may not see the light of day. �I am urging you to help take the NPP�s message to every household and actively canvass for the return of the NPP into power in 2016, so we can rebuild Ghana again. We have done it before, and I am assuring you that we can move Ghana away from the difficult conditions she finds herself in,� he added.