‘I Can’t Fail NPP Founders’

The two-times presidential candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, last Sunday delivered one of the most soul-touching speeches in his political career, after stating emphatically that his heart will never rest in peace, if he fails to deliver Ghanaians from the harsh economic conditions they are experiencing under the NDC regime.

Nana Addo says he also owes it a moral responsibility to fulfill the wishes of both present and living founding fathers to return the party back to power, to continue from where ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor and other leaders of the Great Elephant family left off.

Addressing a thick crowd of supporters of the party at Abbey’s Park to round-off his campaign in the Ashanti Regional capital ahead of the crucial Presidential Congress slated for Saturday, October 18, the two times flagbearer noted that he does not like the kind of accountability he will render to both the living and ancestors of the party, if he fails to return the party back to power.

“It will be difficult for me to imagine that after all the struggles Ghanaians are going through under this poor President Mahama-led NDC administration, I could not lead the party back to power to continue the good works of the former President J.A Kufuor, what will I tell ancestors when I die,” he lamented.

Nana Addo stated that he is strongly motivated by the will and the zeal that the NPP is the only party that can salvage Ghanaians from the socio-economic hardships that they are experiencing under President Mahama, stressing that anything short of victory for the NPP in 2016 will be an anti-climax.

The former Attorney General cum Foreign Minister, who is highly tipped to emerge victorious against two other contestants challenging him in Saturday’s congress, once again stressed the need for unity and togetherness before, during and after the exercise, in order for the party to remain strong for the battle ahead.

80% plus victory

Nana Akufo-Addo told the enthusiastic crowd of party faithful that he is not only looking to emerge victorious after Saturday’s congress but will also call on delegates to give him an overwhelming endorsement to send strong signal to outsiders, especially political opponents, that the NPP is very strong and unified.

According to him, the outcome of the congress will prove crucial to the forward movement of the party as it would indicate how ready the party is to recapture power and return Ghana to the path of glory.

The unity of the party, especially after the congress, has become a major subject of discussion with the campaign for the presidential slot marred by internal rancour and mudslinging, particularly between supporters of the two main contenders, Nana Akufo-Addo and Kwadwo Alan Kyerematen.

Political observers believe that the survival of the NPP and whether the party will continue to unite, moving forward, will largely depend on the outcome of the congress and how convincing the victory will be.

It is for this reason that Nana Akufo-Addo pleaded with delegates to give him a minimum of at least 81% percent of the total votes to send a message to detractors that there is a strong internal unity within the party, contrarily to the assertion by some adversaries.

“I need our delegates to vote massively for me; we want to send signals to the NDC and all our opponents that we are not divided and that we are very strong as ever, to challenge for the ultimate in 2016,” he noted.

Nana Addo said he was satisfied with the way and manner the party had conducted itself, including his opponents, and promised that after the congress NPP would assembly a strong team to confront the next elections.

He said there was every indication that Ghanaians are fed up with the NDC whose five year tenure has been hell for the people, adding that the NPP will surely win the 2016 general elections.

According to him, the only thing standing between the NPP and victory 2016 will be vigilance, adding that with the lessons of the Supreme Court Petition at the back of the party’s mind, there is the need to put adequate measures in place to ensure that ballot is duly protected from the polling station levels right to the EC’s Strong Room.

Message to President Mahama

Nana Akufo-Addo also charged the President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama to deal with the cronyism and the unbridled corruption that has characterized his administration.

The NPP leader said never had the country witnessed a high level of corruption and looting of state assets amongst public officials than it is experiencing under the regime of President Mahama.

According to him, public officials are engaging in corrupt acts with such impunity and little recourse to the hardships being experienced by Ghanaians and said the results, consequently, had been the country’s resort to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bail out, which he said was likely to aggravate the agony of the people.

He, therefore, charged the President to stop the rhetoric and get down to serious business in order to save the economy and lower the burden on the good people of this country.

Source: The Chronicle