We’re ready to save Ghana – Akufo-Addo

Thousands of supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) yesterday held a national rally at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre, La in Accra to round off their campaign for the 2016 general election, with the presidential candidate of the party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, re-affirming his resolve to save Ghana from becoming a failed state.    

His passion, he said, was born out of a non-biased desire to restore hope to the people of Ghana.

 

That commitment, he said, was unwavering and not based on tribal, political, colour or religious colourations.

 

"I am not going to disappoint the people of Ghana. Together, we are going to build a new Ghana that will ensure prosperity for all," he added

It had become obvious, he said, that the people of Ghana could no longer withstand the high level of suffering they were going through under the incompetent administration of President John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

 

He reminded Ghanaians that God had not forgotten about them and that was why He had created the opportunity for them to get rid of President Mahama and the NDC administration and vote in the NPP.

 

The NPP, he said, had the perfect recipe to deal with the situation that the country had been placed in by President Mahama's government.

 

Nana Akufo-Addo gave an assurance that he would not stand before Ghanaians and make vain promises but that he was confident of making Ghana work again.

 

He described President Mahama as the single greatest threat to the future of Ghana, adding that in the last few hours to the elections the NDC would resort to using lies, fabrications, as well as libelous and slanderous statements, in a bid to paint him (Nana Akufo-Addo) black, but urged the people to disregard such vile propaganda and remain resolute in their quest for change.

 

The rally was well attended by all the parliamentary candidates of the party, district, regional and national executives of the NPP, as well as sympathisers.

 

Attired in the party’s colours of white, blue and red, the supporters covered every bit of space at the forecourt of the Trade Fair Centre, rendering the road from the Palm Wine Junction to the La Junction virtually impassable.

During certain stages of the rally, the crowd became charged, blowing vuvuzelas, horns and whistles as the speakers delivered their addresses.

Party of destiny
Describing the NPP as a party of destiny, former President John Agyekum Kufuor said it was only the NPP that could save the country from its current hardship.

Hope might have been lost, he said, but the NPP had the men and resources to make life bearable for Ghanaians again.

The running mate to Nana Akufo-Addo, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, cautioned against voting for President Mahama and his government that had shown gross incompetence in the face of over-abundant resources from the oil revenue.

The NPP, under former President Kufuor, achieved more because of its better understanding of the dynamics of economics, while the NDC had succeeded in siphoning state resources in illegal payments to Mr Alfred  Agbesi Woyome, he added.

That, among other infractions, had led to the current high level of suffering that the country now found itself in, he said, and suggested that the only option was to vote out the NDC and bring in the NPP under the able leadership of Nana Akufo-Addo to help rescue the country from imminent destruction.

Remain vigilant
The acting General Secretary of the NPP, Mr John Boadu, said while the national rally signalled an end to the official campaign of the party, there was going to be a float through all the 275 constituencies of the country aimed at making a clarion call on all to remain alert to cast their votes on Wednesday, December 7, 2016.
He said the exemplary action of the party's agents during the special voting exercise had shown their level of preparedness for Election Day.

This time around, he said, adequate provisions had been made for their upkeep for them not to be distracted in the performance of their duties.

He called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to fulfil its promise of placing an extra biometric verification device (BVD) at  every polling station to minimise incidents of manual verification identified with the breakdown of the BVDs.

A caution to the EC
The National Campaign Manager of the NPP, Mr Peter Mac Manu, said the party was committed to incident-free elections and expressed the hope that the EC would be transparent in the transmission of results from all levels to the national.

He cautioned against the use of any shortcuts that would create doubts and uncertainties in the minds of Ghanaians that could lead to untoward outcomes.

The acting National Chairman of the party, Mr Freddie Blay, said: "We've been so tolerant and swallowed a lot under these number of years under Mahama. It is just a few days away and we cannot be complacent because every single vote counts.”

He charged Ghanaians not to get jubilant after voting but remain vigilant until Nana Akufo-Addo had been declared the President-elect by the EC.

The Member of Parliament for Suame, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who is the Minority Leader, said it would be an exercise in futility if Ghanaians resorted to skirt-and-blouse voting, saying the situation where one voted for the presidential candidate of a political party and the parliamentary candidate of another party was not good enough.