Presidential Race - Upset On The Cards

The campaign outfit of the out-going Foreign Affairs Minister, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has admitted that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) looks fearsome, since the opposition party would leave no stone unturned to win next year’s general elections. The foreign Minister’s campaign group said as a result of the state of the NDC as a formidable group, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) does not need to take things for granted, but to present a suitable candidate who could lock horns with NDC’s Prof. John Evans Atta Mills to retain power after the 2008 elections.

Speaking in an interview with The Chronicle, the Spokesperson of the Nana Akufo Addo campaign team, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, who contested for the position of General Secretary of the NPP and lost, noted that the foreign Minister was the best person the party could chose to wrestle with the NDC’s Presidential Candidate.

The campaign team which was in the B/A, to reaffirm Nana’s message to the potential delegates in the region as a follow-up to Nana Addo’s first visit early this year, told The Chronicle that looking at the circumstances surrounding the 2008 elections, Nana’s role as a flag bearer would be much needed because of his stature, political experience, intellectual capacity and international exposure he had acquired.

The camp of the foreign minister has been perceived as the most aggrieved over recent allegations that President Kufuor is backing one of the presidential aspirant. The Statesman newspaper edited by cousin of the Minister, Gaby Otchere Darko, had for sometime caused many to believe that the President was after all supporting Nana Addo whom he constantly referred to as the “president’s loyal foreign Minister.” According to the spokesman, NDC looks so dangerous because officials of that party have seen the 2008 elections as being the decider of their fate in politics, adding the 2008 general elections would determine the fate of the NDC whether it would die off as political party or remain in the country’s political arena.

Mustapha Hamid indicated that the NPP had to elect someone with universal character who could unite and also have negotiation skills both locally and abroad. The spokesman dismissed the assertion that Ghana now needed business oriented politicians, but not raw politicians. He however reiterated that even when it comes to business, Nana Addo was not just a politician and a lawyer, but an economist, who understand business deeply. He counted some of the business entities the NPP Presidential Aspirant had brought into this country as including DHL, an international courier organization; Mobitel, which operates now as Tigo, a Cellular Phone Company; and Dutch Telecom which has since been defunct in Ghana.

Mustapha Hamid stated that the Presidency was not an implementation office, but an office that needs a visionary leader who could direct, and identify people who could deliver and lead the nation. On the team’s role of spreading the message of Nana Akufo, Mustapha Hamid said the team had outlined its programme in such a way that the aspirant would visit each region three times before the congress day. He said, “Nana has visited all the regions and very soon a second round of national tour would commence.” He disclosed that what they were doing was to go round and re-affirm Nana’s earlier message to the potential delegates.

The Brong Ahafo Region has been put into five zones by the team for strategic reason. The Nana Addo team who visited that region was made up of Mr. Eddie Dako, National Campaign Coordinator; Yaw Amfo Kwakye, Special Assistant to the Foreign Minister; Victor Newman; Anim Obiri in charge of Field Operation; Kwasi Kyere, Chairman of Abuakwa South Constituency of the NPP; Agyenim Boateng, member and lawyer Asoma Cheremeh, Brong Ahafo Regional Campaign Coordinator.