A VIBRANT YOUTH wing in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with branches in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions is urging the party�s flag bearer Nana Akufo-Addo to choose an Akan as running mate to brighten his chances of winning next year�s general elections.
The Youth in Action for NPP believes the party�s running mate for the 2012 elections should be selected from the Brong Ahafo region for strategic reasons.
Spokesperson for the group, Kojo Ofori told Daily Guide the NPP seriously needed a Brong Ahafo native for the slot to neutralize the ruling National Democratic Congress�(NDC) secret grand scheme of amassing more votes from the region in the next polls.
He disclosed that a six month study conducted by his group comprising mostly of university graduates had unveiled that the NDC is banking its hopes on Brong Ahafo, a swing region to win the 2012 polls.
Ofori said as part of its scheme, the NDC government had given several key appointments both in the party and government to people from the region and mentioned two people namely, J.H. Owusu Acheampong and Cecilia Johnson who are currently members of the Council of State.
He noted that NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia and the ruling party�s National Organizer, Yaw Boateng Gyan both hail from the Brong Ahafo region.
Ofori said their research also revealed that the NDC strategically organized its national congress in Sunyani, the Brong Ahafo regional capital, adding that by sheer coincidence the wife of the Vice President, Lordina Mahama is also from the area.
These aforementioned facts should be a source of concern to every NPP member, he added.
To prevent the NDC from hijacking the region which according to Ofori would decide which party would win the next polls, he suggested that the NPP elect a native of the area as Nana Addo�s running mate saying that position would far surpass the numerous appointments and positions being given to Brong Ahafo natives by the NDC.
At the moment the Youth in Action for NPP which has a membership of about 1,000 has its eyes on Kwadwo Adjei Darko, former MP for Sunyani West as the best person to partner Nana Akufo-Addo.
They said Mr. Adjei Darko who is also former NPP Chairman for the region is more appealing to people of the area with an impeccable reputation throughout his public life.
They argued that the NPP needed a person that could help foil all the NDC�s strategies of winning more votes in the region and are convinced that nobody in the region can do that job better than Mr. Adjei Darko.
During his days as MP, Minister at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Mr. Adjei Darko proved beyond reasonable doubt that he is a competent leader, they said.
The group insisted that Mr. Adjei Darko has since the beginning of his political life which dates back to the 1980s, been able to sustain the love and bond between him and the electorate in the region.
They once again appealed to Nana Addo and for that matter the entire NPP hierarchy to settle on a Brong Ahafo native, particularly Mr. Adjei Darko, as the party�s running mate since that is the surest way of bringing electoral victory to the NPP in 2012.
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