Nana To Appoint Blay Minister

The flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, has hinted that he would appoint the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Freddie Blay, as a minister in his government, should he win the December 7 polls. “This is a minister in my government that I am going to form,” he said.

At a mammoth rally, unprecedented in this year’s election campaign, at Essiama to introduce Mr. Blay to his constituents on Saturday, Nana Addo Dankwa electrified the crowd that besieged the event ground, when he revealed for the first time, one of the people he would appoint as a minister, to help him run the government he was preparing to form.

According to Nana Addo, the cooperation that had existed in past elections between the NPP and Mr. Blay, was not going to end abruptly, during and after the campaign season, but would continue to another level, and this time in government.

“The cooperation is not going to end in the campaign season, but will continue to another level,” he emphasised Nana Addo explained that the ruling NPP was a party that believed in cooperation for national development, and as result would continue to work with Blay in the interest of the development of the country. “We are prepared to coorperate with patriotic people, who are forward looking, for the development of our country,” he noted. Describing Mr. Blay, now known in political circles as “Ellembele Mugabe,” as the best candidate for the constituency, Nana Addo explained why he made that assertion.

He said the man was a courageous man of principal, who he had a great deal of respect for, and urged his constituents to send him to parliament for the fourth time. He noted that Blay was one of the few political figures in the country, who fought for the establishment of democratic governance, with the respect for the rule of law, and therefore deserved commendation.

“We will continue to give our support to this strong man, for being dedicated to the struggle for human rights and the rule of law. Vote for me and vote for Freddie Blay,” he stated, adding, “This man is a patriot and a worthy son of Ghana.” Mr. Blay did not speak, but his actions on the day spoke louder than words he could have uttered.

He took over the Kangaroo dance of the NPP from the Esiama community Nursing Training College, where the NPP campaign team met him and students of the school, including some of their tutors.

By the time the NPP presidential candidate and his team arrived at the school, the whole compound had been turned into a rally ground, with miniature posters of Mr. Freddie Blay being carried by the students, who were all in Nana Addo’s campaign T-shirts, an indication of the political alliance that still exists between the NPP and Mr. Blay.

The community nursing training college, which was established as a mission college, has poor infrastructure. Fortunately, President John Agyekum, who visited the school during one his tours of the Western Region, decided to involve government in the management of the school, which eventually led to its expansion, and now it can boast of over 700 students because of better and adequate facilities provided by government, through the Ghana Education Trust Fund.

In line with what the sitting President had done for the school, the aspiring president, Nana Addo, in his address to the students, also promised to support the infrastructure needs of the school when voted into power.

He told the enthusiastic students, who were all in NPP T-shirts, that he was prepared to work with the necessary manpower to move the country forward, and that their college was one of the institutions that could ensure progress for the health sector, which he opined had over the last few years been supported adequately by the current government to improve the health needs of Ghanaians.

Describing the health sector as a sensitive area, Nana Addo made a passionate appeal to the nurses to consider their role in national development as crucial, and stay in the country after school, to contribute to overall development. He said the last six to seven years the government had made sure that 7,000 nurses stayed to work for the country, instead of the mass exodus that hit the health sector some time back.

Among the reasons which contributed significantly to that achievement, he observed, was the better conditions of service made available by the government. He said salaries of the nurses had gone up five times, an indication, he attributed, to the commitment of the government to improving generally the health sector of our country.

Meanwhile, the jamboree at Esiama was that of ecstacy, as Nana Addo and Mr. Blay drove in a convoy to the Catholic Park where the mammoth rally was held.