“Propaganda Mongering Against Me will not Succeed” – Akufo-Addo

The 2012 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa

Akufo-Addo has assured President Mills and his army of propaganda warriors

that they would not succeed in their deliberate propaganda mongering against

the him and the New Patriotic Party.

Nana Addo made this known at a press conference held at the Freedom Hotel,

Ho, where he responded to President Mills’ position on peaceful elections in

the country which was contained in his State of the Nation address delivered

on Thursday 17th February 2011.

He described as very disturbing, the conduct of His Excellency Professor

J.E.A Mills who used the solemn occasion of the State of the Nation address

and the podium of Parliament to attack and threaten his political opponents,

opponents who have demanded peaceful, free and fair elections in 2012,

devoid of violence, intimidation and fraud.

“Instead of using that august opportunity to address these legitimate

concerns he opted to speak as the leader of a political party on an

imaginary battlefield”, Nana Addo said.

Nana Akufo-Addo said the NPP, over the last two years, has catalogued

details of savage attacks against party activists, which have gone

unpunished. He said the NPP has also protested the apparently selective

manner in which the law is being applied by the state against those

perceived to be political opponents of the current government.

“With the able support of the media, we have tried to bring the President’s

attention to the impunity with which so-called footsoldiers of the ruling

party have spent the last 25 months attacking people and property.”

“We have expressed our extreme worry about violence as an electoral

strategy, as was evident in all three parliamentary contests held under his

watch, namely, the completion of the Akwatia election, and the Chereponi and

Atiwa by-elections. The deplorable incidents in these elections were

unknown in the Kufuor era, which saw the conduct of at least ten

by-elections.”

“For all our repeated public appeals to the President of the Republic in

these last two years his preferred form of a belated response, as Ghanaians

witnessed to their dismay last Thursday, was to label the complainant a

war-monger and threaten to come down heavily on those who complain”, Nana

Addo said.

Nana Addo explained that the slogan ‘All Die be Die’ came as a result of NPP

party activists being reduced to second class citizens and becoming victims

of vituperations, discrimination, intimidation, aggression and incarceration

without protection from the state.

“Our supporters know fully well what is meant by the ‘all die be die’

slogan. They know it is not a call on them to initiate violence. It is a

defensive exhortation. It is but a call to the victims of aggression to

stand firm and if need be defend themselves against the aggressor”, Nana

said.

Nana Addo remarked that it has not come as a surprise to that there has not

been a single incident of a violent response occurring anywhere in the

country from NPP supporters as a result of the slogan, as NPP supporters are

supporters are responsible citizens.

Nana Addo took the opportunity to urge NPP members and supporters to

continue to be law-abiding citizens and play by the rules of the game.

Let the President, he said, “Send a similar message to his out-of-control

supporters”.

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NPP Communications Directorate

NPP Headquarters, Asylum Down. Accra.

Dep. Director: Curtis Perry K. Okudzeto

(024-9679008)