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Managing Editor of the Al-Hajj newspaper, Alhaji Bature, believes flagbearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, failed to impose his preferred choice of a running mate on the NPP prior to the 2008 General Elections because he lacked the capacity to be his own man. The Al-Hajj newspaper in a publication on Thursday, September 15th, quoting from the leaked diplomatic cable with reference number 08ACCRA605 stated that: �Nana (Akufo-Addo)�is giving �serious� consideration to naming a female as his running mate�the leading contenders being Women and Children�s Affairs Minister, Hajia Aliu Mahama and Minister of Tourism, Oboshie Sai Cofie. Both he said, are �eminently qualified�, but he is leaning at the moment towards Mahama, a highly qualified lawyer (as is Akufo-Addo), a Muslim and someone who would bring geographical balance (she is from the Northern Region). Nana expects to name his VP candidate by the time of the party congress, and will set up a committee to vet all candidates thoroughly and develop a �short list� for his consideration�.� Based on this, Alhaji Bature thus speculated that the NPP flagbearer shelved the idea of picking Hajia Alima as his preferred running mate in 2008 probably because he is not his own man or perhaps the NPP feared it would be risky to entrust him (Nana Addo) with a woman as Vice-President considering the US Embassy�s assessment that he was a �womanizer� and an �occasional marijuana smoker�. Speaking to the issue in an interview with Suhuyini Alhassan on Radio Gold, Alhaji Bature accused the NPP flagbearer of not being independent minded and caving in rather too easily to the demands of the party, eventhough he (Nana Addo) believed his ideal candidate was the best. ��So why could he not convince his people (NPP) that these are the people I want and they are those I am going to use �why can�t he stand his grounds?...That is the difference between him and Prof. Mills� in 2008 we saw Pres. Mills demonstrate independence. We are told he (Nana) is independent; the question we are asking is how come he could not get his way to choose his own running mate if they claim he is a man of his own? He once wanted Hajia Alima Mahama but those around him did not agree with him and so he was advised to change his candidate� You can see that all those women he chose were good and there was nothing wrong with it but because he was not alone, he was advised to change. If the NPP are scared to trust a woman with their leader then it is up to the Ghanaians to judge�,� he said. According to him, in 2008, the NPP propaganda machinery implanted in the minds of Ghanaians that then candidate Mills when voted for as President, will be manipulated by ex-President Jerry John Rawlings. However, he said, President Mills has been able to prove them wrong. To him, the NPP and their flagbearer is now doing what they thought President Mills would have done. ��what separates President Mills from Nana Addo is that President Mills can think on his own and be of himself; however Nana Addo cannot�it will be good if Nana Addo emulates President Mills,� he said.