Akufo Addo Suffers Big Blow

-In his quest to become president

Even though the president of the National Prophetic and Apostolic Churches Council of Ghana, Bishop Elisha Salifu Amoako did not specifically mention the name of the winner for this year’s presidential elections he says they are already aware of, all indications are that, Nana Akufo Addo of the NPP is most likely to be the loser.

This is because the dreams of the presidential candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) of becoming president of Ghana continues to hit one snag after the other.

The first hitch to hit Nana Addo was the untimely death of his major contender and sitting president, John Atta Mills who died on the 24th July this year at the 37 Military Hospital.

The NPP’s immediate reaction when president John Mills died was one of contentment since he was seen to be a stumbling block in the party’s quest to recapture power.

However, their ‘joy’ was short lived as the party was to later recognize the real value of the then Vice President John Mahama who replaced Mills as the President of Ghana.

President John Mahama’s unexpected and inexorable soaring attractiveness over the last two months, which has also compelled the NDC founder, Jerry Rawlings, who has in the last three and half years written-off any chances of his own party in the upcoming elections, to publicly endorse him, thus; sending shivers down the spine of Nana Addo and the NPP.

Another blow dealt the NPP and its candidate was the declaration of vote of confidence in the Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Afari Gyan and the granting of clean bill of health in Ghana’s electoral system by the United States of America last week.

The US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, Johnnie Carson told a cross section of journalists from Africa during a video conference that US government has enormous respect for the EC and its chairman, describing Dr Afari-Gyan as a man of high integrity and one of the most experienced electoral commissioners in the world.

Earlier last week, the NPP had its hope of stalling the creation of 45 new constituency by the Electoral Commission dashed as the Supreme Court on Wednesday, dismissed a motion against an interlocutory injunction seeking to restrain Parliament from considering the controversial CI 78 to legalize the 45 new constituencies.

Using a surrogate businessman, Mr. Ransford France, the opposition wanted the Supreme Court to restrain Parliament from considering CI 78 which has been laid and is expected to mature on October 3, 2012 until the final determination of a suit filed against the creation of the new constituencies.

The applicant went to court on July 6, 2012, praying it to declare as unconstitutional and illegal the creation of 45 new constituencies by the Electoral Commission (EC).

A fatal blow to the chances of Nana Akufo Addo was by the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) who in a press release last Thursday, seemed to have shot down the NPP presidential candidate’s flagship manifesto pledge of a free Senior High School.

NUGS directed students and the youth to vote for a party with good educational policies, rather than the free education which has dominated headlines.

According to Bishop Elisha Salifu Amoako of Alive Chapel International and president of the Prophetic and Apostolic Churches Council of Ghana, his group has written to inform the supposed winner of the yet-to-be conducted December polls.

The Bishop, speaking to Adom News after a press conference to announce the church’s “7 Days All Believers’ Prayer and Fasting Programme” for peace, during and after the election said; the group had decided not to go public on the issue due to security issues.