I Have Never Seen Nana Addo Smoke Or Drink � Kufuor

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor appears to have given a further boost to the credibility of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo when he said he had never seen the NPP flagbearer smoke or drink alcohol. �If I am not exaggerating, I have known Nana Akufo-Addo for 40 years and more and I have never seen him indulge in smoking or taking alcohol in all these years,� the ex-President said. Speaking to Adom FM yesterday about how he managed to invite his predecessor, JJ Rawlings, to his foundation launch at the University of Ghana and also the Wikileaks revelation on Tuesday, Mr. Kufuor said Ghanaians should disregard the smear campaign against the NPP flagbearer and rather look at what he (Akufo-Addo) could offer the country. He said the Wikileaks claim should be disregarded because it had the tendency to derail the democratic gains made by the country by further dividing the people, saying, �I have always said that Wikileaks is just hearsay but if we are not careful and we rush to accept the contents we will destroy ourselves as a people.� He said Nana Akufo-Addo was knowledgeable and experienced in politics, adding that �he has matured to lead the NPP. �For many years, I have known Nana Akufo-Addo especially in his time as Attorney-General, Foreign Minister and MP�if you give him light drink, he will not take it�if you give him cigarette he will not smoke.� The ex-President said it was not appropriate for detractors of the NPP flagbearer to judge him on his past deeds, especially when those remained mere perceptions. He noted that it was clear that people told lies about Nana Akufo-Addo to foreign diplomats and said those who made statements later came back to deny them, saying, �If we are not careful, we can denigrate precious people who are capable of leading this country. �These are some of the dangers Wikileaks poses to our democracy.� Mr. Kufuor offered a sound advice to the youth to avoid being used by politicians to cause mayhem in the country. He said, �We need to trade ideas and dialogue to bring development and not indulge in insults, lies and character assassination.�