<<Print>>

The President-Elect of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has appealed for the continued support and prayers of the Overlord of the Mamprugu Traditional area, the Nayiri, Naabohogu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, for him and his government as he prepares to take over the reins of government on January 7, 2017.

Addressing the Nayiri at his palace in Nalerigu, on Thursday, December 22, 2016, Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that “I am counting on you for your continued support, prayers and advice to make sure that we walk in the right direction, and do the right things for our country.”

The President-Elect also requested for prayers for the vice President-Elect, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, ‘son of the Nayiri’, explaining that “he is going to be the key figure in the reconstruction of the economy of our country.

“He is going to be the Chairman of the Economic Management Committee, so he is going to need your special prayers to make sure that he acts with wisdom and be successful in the discharge of his duties.”

Nana Akufo-Addo continued, “The people of Nalerigu, not only voted for me, but, also voted for their daughter, Hajia Alima Mahama, to represent them in parliament. It is a very good choice, and I want you, Nayiri, to know that she’s going to be a part of the Akufo-Addo government from 2017. So you have a double burden. Two of your children are going to play a big role in my government. So we’re going to need your wisdom and guidance to succeed.”

It will be recalled that after the declaration of Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP as winners of the December 7 elections, the first delegation of any traditional ruler in Ghana to pay a courtesy call on the President-Elect was the delegation sent by the Nayiri, which was made up of prominent Chiefs of Mamprugu.

It is for this reason, Nana Akufo-Addo explained, that “I have come here today, on my part, to also say thank you for the support and prayers that you gave for me. God listened to your prayers and that is the basis for our victory.”

He also assured Naabohogu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga that “all the promises that I made to the people of Ghana, and the specific ones I made to the people of the northern regions of our country, God is going to give me the power and energy to fulfill those promises.”

The President-Elect announced his intention to restructure the Northern Development Authority, re-christened SADA by the current administration, “so that it becomes a genuine instrument of prosperity of the Northern Regions of our country.”

The other commitments he made during the course of the campaign – irrigating the farm lands of the northern regions, bringing in basic amenities and infrastructural developments to the constituencies, amongst others – he said, will be fulfilled.

“I want it to be said, when the history of our country is being written, that it was in Akufo-Addo’s time that Ghanaians began to enjoy widespread prosperity across the length and breadth of the country. And for that to happen, I am taking your advice that I have to bring everybody together, all the peoples of Ghana, without discrimination, as one united body to go forward and make Ghana the country of the dreams of our ancestors.”

“It is possible and we can do it, with unity, courage and circumspection, we can do it. I pray to Almighty God that he gives me the opportunity to make this happen,” he concluded.