Barring any last minute change of mind, the 2008 and 2012 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo Addo will return to Accra on Monday, January 27, 2014.
Sources close to Nana Addo have also hinted that within a few days after his return, he is expected to declare that after seeking Almighty God�s direction and responding to calls from millions of grassroot supporters, �he, Nana Akufo Addo has decided to offer himself to lead the NPP in the 2016 elections�.
As we went to press, persons like Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, Mr. Alan Kyeremanten, Mr. Joe Ghartey and Mr. Isaac Osei are likely to throw their hats into the ring and seek the NPP�s 2016 flagbearership slot.
Others who will take a decision based on Nana Addo�s stand include Mr. Dan Botwe, Dr. Arthur Kennedy, Mr. Richard Anane, Mr. Asamoah Boateng, Prof. Frimpong Boateng and Mr. Osei Ameyaw.
A leading member of the NPP told the Daily Dispatch, �There is little doubt that Nana Addo is the most popular individual in the party. If he is to contest ex-president John Kufuor in a popularity contest in the NPP, Nana will win handsomely. Another angle is that there is no way someone will want to contest for the 2016 NPP slot without directly attacking Nana Addo.
To appeal to the NPP�s Electoral College, one will have to explain why he is better than Nana. One possible and reasonable line of campaigning is to argue that in spite of close results, Nana Addo is not marketable to the floating voters.
Supporters of Nana Addo are likely to see this line of campaigning as an attack on Nana. The question is: how then can those interested in NPP�s 2016 slot campaign?�
If such attacks on those likely to contest Nana continue, then the NPP should expect high levels of apathy in their stronghold of Ashanti and Eastern regions.
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