‘I’m not in politics to steal’ – Akufo-Addo

New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential hopeful, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has stated categorically that enriching himself and family has never been his reason for being in politics.

In spite of his two failed attempts at the presidency, he explained he was giving it a third shot because he has dreamt about what the country’s destination ought to be, and wanted to take Ghanaians to that promised land.

Nana Akufo-Addo, who is on a ‘thank you tour’ of the Northern region, indicated that he will take pride in engraving his name in the annals of the country as the President who led the transformation of the country in spite of the growing pessimism.

“I am not in politics to fill my pockets, to enrich myself or my family or to steal your money. That’s not why I am in politics,” he stressed; adding, “I am in politics because I have a vision and a dream of what this country can be, and I want to work to make that dream possible. I am asking you to give me the opportunity; support me. Where it is necessary to criticise me, do not hesitate; point out when things are going wrong. Give me your positive enthusiasm and let’s go forward together. We can make it and make Ghana truly the Black Star of Africa,” he said.

An Akufo-Addo presidency, he said, will allow Ghana to begin the task for the transformation of Ghana.

“President Kufuor took us there. Instead of the NDC building on it, they have taken us back. God-willing, when we come back at the beginning of 2017, the task of transforming our country, giving our country an economy that will allow our young people to get work, an economy that will change the dynamics of the north will commence. Our agriculture will begin to flourish again, and the gap between north and south, which is the burning ambition of my life, will be bridged in our generation,” he said.

Nana Akufo-Addo assured the NPP delegates that despite the growing pessimism Ghanaians are having about the state of affairs in the country, “I believe we can change Ghana. Many years from now, our children of today will say our fathers and mothers changed Ghana, and they did so when Akufo-Addo was President of Ghana.”

Division In NPP Nana Akufo-Addo opined that there cannot be division within the New Patriotic Party when key representatives of its membership can give an 80.81% endorsement to one particular candidate, adding that it is a clear sign of unity within the ranks of the NPP.

Speaking to the delegates of the party who voted in the August 31 Special Electoral College, Nana Akufo- Addo explained that the results of the election are a clear indication of the fact that the “party is focused on winning power and very much united.”

An equally resounding victory for him in the October 18 primary, Akufo- Addo said, will send a clear political message to Ghanaians that “the party is emphatically and solidly united behind a particular candidate as its leader, waiting to go into battle in 2016. That emphatic victory provides us with a base, going into the election.”

Nana Akufo-Addo thanked the northern regional delegates for the 88.57% victory they gave to him in the August 31 contest, noting that they kept the promise they made to him. He appealed to the delegates who did not vote for him in the Special Electoral College to vote for him this time around, and “work together to send the NPP into the Jubilee House.”

On the claim being made by some persons that the 780 delegates, who voted in the Special Electoral College, are not representative of the choice of the grassroots of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo replied: “I don’t know anyone who has a better connection to the grassroots than constituency chairmen, especially as you were elected barely a year ago by these same polling station executives. I believe that on the 18th of October, that matter will be answered.”

“With hard work and proper organisation, this time we are going to make sure we don’t get cheated. Twenty-seven will not become ‘twenty-seven zero’. We are going to make sure that all the loopholes are plugged, so that at the end of the day, a declaration will be made that the NPP presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has won the presidency,” he said to a rapturous applause from the delegates.