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01.09.2008 NPP

NPP To Win Central, Gt Accra Regions — Akufo-Addo

01.09.2008 LISTEN
By Daily Graphic

The flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the party would continue its good work by ensuring that the Greater Accra and Central regions voted massively for the NPP this year again.

He said contrary to claims that the Central Region was no longer one of the strongholds of the NPP, his recent visit to the area showed clearly that the people in the region appreciated the work of the NPP and would continue to vote for it .

Nana Akufo Addo, who was speaking at a mini-rally in Bukom, a suburb of Accra on Friday, said the people in the Central Region and Ghanaians in general would vote for NPP in the 2008 elections ,due to the good work done by the Kufuor Administration, coupled with the belief that the NPP party was the best for them.

He, therefore, debunked claims by some media houses and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the Central Region was no longer the stronghold of the NPP.

He expressed concern about what he termed tribal politics by some politicians who believed that Ghanaians would vote for them when they played such dangerous political games.

“In all that we do, we must bear in mind that we are Ghanaian first before any tribal arrangements,” he said and urged Ghanaian to be wary of such political leaders who wanted to use tribalism to score cheap political points.

Speaking in both Ga and English, the NPP flag bearer said the entire world was looking up to Ghana to repeat its practice of peaceful elections and urged Ghanaians, especially leaders of political parties, to be careful with their utterances before, during and after the elections.

“We are the number one when it comes to elections and we should again show to the world that we can do that again. Everyone is looking up to us to set the example again for the rest of Africa.

 

We should do that without a drop of anybody's blood”, he said.

He urged all the political parties to collaborate with the Electoral Commission (EC) for peaceful, transparent and fair elections to take place and also urged all parties to accept the verdict of the people of Ghana after December 7.

Nana Akufo Addo said he was confident of winning the elections because of the development agenda the NPP had prosecuted in the areas of education, democracy, rule of law, freedom of the individual and institutions and the economy.

He said education, especially quality free education, from the kindergarten to senior high school, would be his government's priority, because that, coupled with expanded tertiary and technical education, would propel Ghana to move forward.

He said just as Japan, Malaysia and South Korea among other nations, had been able to achieve high literacy rates, with determination and commitment, Ghana could replicate such positive examples.

Explaining how his government would finance these programmes, Nana Akufo Addo said just as President Kufuor, through prudent economic management, had been able to start the free basic education, his administration would do the same and add the revenue that would be accrued from oil to supplement it.

“Initially, when President Kufuor started with the free basic education and the school feeding programme, the NDC said there was no money to sustain that, but through judicious economic management, he was able to achieve that and I will also make senior high school free,” he added.

He said if the NPP had the 19 years in government like the PNDC/ND it would have transformed Ghana greatly, adding that “we will not have messed up the economy like the NDC left it for us in 2000 after 19 years in power.”

 

Story by Donald Ato Dapatem

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