Nana is next president – Mac Manu predicts

The National Campaign Manager of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Peter Mac Manu, has expressed optimism that the party’s presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will win the December 7 presidential poll.

“All the signs are clear that our presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, has already been elected as Ghana’s next president,” he noted.

He cited the enthusiastic response of the Ghanaian electorate to the NPP’s message of change, progress and prosperity for the nation.

“Majority of Ghanaians are yearning for a change from the hardships and suffering imposed on them by John Mahama’s NDC government, which has never been witnessed before in the annals of the country’s political history,” he asserted.

Addressing thousands of NPP supporters at the party’s campaign launch in the Takoradi Constituency on Saturday, Mr Mac Manu urged the enthusiastic party faithful to be very vigilant at the polling centres to stop any attempts of stealing of ballots by individuals or groups.

He assured that the National Executives of the NPP were putting measures in place to prevent any diabolical strategies from any quarters aimed at preventing Nana Akufo-Addo from becoming president.

Mr Mac Manu entreated supporters and sympathizers to turn up in their numbers to vote for Nana Addo and all the party’s parliamentary candidates to ensure a resounding victory.

“In 2008, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo picked the telephone and congratulated the winner of the election, Prof J.E.A. Mills, and in 2012 he did the same to President John Mahama after the Supreme Court ruling,’’ the campaign manager recalled.

He declared, however, that “This time around, we expect President Mahama to extend the same courtesies and respect to our flag bearer immediately he is declared by the Electoral Commission as the winner of the December 2016 poll, as he is going to win hands down.”

He told the gathering that they should all engage themselves as polling agents and open their eyes widely at the polling stations to ensure that their ballots are protected.

He also explained to them that under the new law, the results at the various polling stations would be posted and also at the collation centres after counting of the ballots and all the figures put together appropriately.

He added that in each case, the people have the right to take pictures of the pink sheets as displayed.

“You can use your mobile phones to capture the results and either WhatsApp or post them on Facebook for the whole world to see,” he encouraged.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Takoradi, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, noted that the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) had done nothing to improve the lives of residents in the Western Region.

He indicated that despite the rich resources in the region and the revenue that accrue to government, the people are still wallowing in abject poverty.

He said that the NDC has been touting roads and other infrastructure as some of its achievements but emphasised that looking at the huge financial resources available to it (government) it could have done more.

Mr Darko-Mensah pointed out that eventhough the financial resources available to the Kufuor-led NPP government were minimal, it embarked on massive infrastructure development and introduced pro-poor initiatives.

He, therefore called on Ghanaians, particularly the youth, to vote massively for the NPP since the December 7 elections are about their future.

Joseph Boahen Aidoo, a former Western Regional Minister, told the people that it is stipulated in the NPP’s recently launched manifesto that the headquarters of the Ghana National Petroleum Authority (GNPC) will be relocated in Takoradi to create jobs for the people if Nana Addo becomes president.