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Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, has ended the 1st phase of his “Rise and Build Tour” with a charge to regional and constituency executives, as well as the party’s parliamentary candidates from the Greater Accra Region, to win the majority of popular votes and majority of seats in the region, as this will guarantee an NPP victory in 2016 elections.

Addressing party faithfuls from all 34 constituencies in the region at Tema, on Sunday, October 11, Nana Akufo-Addo explained that, even before Ghana attained independence, the political party that always emerges victorious in the Greater Accra Region wins the national election.

“Right from Kwame Nkrumah’s time, in the 1951 elections, they say if you win Accra, you win Ghana. We have to win Greater Accra to win Ghana in 2016. We, in the NPP, have done it before. In 2000, we did it. We can repeat it again in 2016”, Nana Akufo-Addo said.

Additionally, the NPP flagbearer noted that, with a population of 4,010,054, as per the 2010 population census, the Greater Accra Region is the second most populous region in Ghana. This, therefore, presents a big opportunity for the NPP to seal victory in the 2016 elections with victory in Greater Accra.

To ensure, and make the victory of the NPP complete, Nana Akufo-Addo told party faithful that “co-operation amongst ourselves has to be the key”, adding that the “responsibility for putting people together in our constituencies lies with our parliamentary candidates.”

To this end, Nana Akufo-Addo urged parliamentary candidates and constituency executives, specifically, from the Shai Osudoku, Ledzokuku, Klottey Korle, Weija Gbawe, Tema West, Krowor, Ablekuma West and Okaikoi South constituencies, to co-operate with each other, and work hard for victory in 2016.

“In the meantime, we, in our party, will not allow our party to suffer because of the ambitions of Nii Noi Nortey, Philip Addision or Adjei Tawiah. We cannot allow that to happen. I am not a communist, but I believe in what the old communists used to say – ‘The Party is Supreme’ – and the party has to be supreme in everything we do”, he said.

He continued, “The same goes for Okaikoi South. Ahmed Arthur and Vicky Bright cannot destroy our party.  There has to be a way for them to come together and work together and stay strong in the constituency. In Krowor and Ablekuma West, the matters in these constituencies are before the Steering Committee of our party. In the meantime, supporters of Adjei Boye, Ayikoi Otoo and Naa Afoley cannot jeopardise the chances of our party. I am appealing to them, let us find a way to work together and reclaim Krowor.”

To Hon. Ursula Owusu, Theophilus Teye and Roni Nicol, all of Ablekuma West, Nana Akufo-Addo stressed that “it is not possible for us to say that we’re going to jeopardise our chances because of their ambitions. Every effort is going to be to ensure that an even playing field is laid out for them in Ablekuma West.”

The NPP flagbearer advocated for an open door policy and a spirit of accommodation amongst parliamentary candidates and their competitors, citing the presence in his campaign of his fellow contestants – Alan Kyerematen, Francis Addai Nimo, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku and Joe Ghartey – from the presidential primary, as a development which should be emulated in every constituency.

“I think this is a good model for everybody in this party to emulate. Let us come together, work hard, and win the 2016 election. We need this co-operation because we have to win Greater Accra,” he said.

Greater Accra, according to Akufo-Addo, has people from every ethnic background living in the region. If the NPP is to win Greater Accra, the NPP flagbearer appealed to all party members to employ the use of positive language that appeals to everybody, so it becomes clear that the NPP is coming into power to work for all Ghanaians, without discrimination.

“We do not have a tribal agenda. We have a Ghanaian agenda, and that is the agenda that is going to bring us into power. We want everybody to understand this through our comportment, demeanour and posture,” he added.

To the constituency and polling station executives, Akufo-Addo urged them to send the party’s message “about our capacity to develop this country, to every nook and cranny of the country. We cannot have one household that would go into the 2016 election without having heard the NPP’s message.”

Greater Accra, Nana Akufo-Addo added, has made a big contribution to the development NPP’s tradition, and the development of Ghana. The contribution made by regional stalwarts like two of the ‘Big Six’, Ako Adjei and Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey, as well as Attoh Okine, K.Y. Attoh, Henry Thompson and Attoh Quarshie, he said, cannot be quantified. 

“These people have helped build our tradition and our country. Let us contribute our quota, win the election of 2016 and honour them. This is a task we can accomplish. It is my hope that, one day, when the history of our country is being written in our grandchildrens’ time, they will say that it was in their grandparents’ time, when Akufo-Addo was President, that they laid the foundation of the successful Ghana in which we live today. That is my ambition, not stolen riches,” he concluded. 

Nana Akufo-Addo was accompanied by 1st National Vice NPP Chairman, Freddie Blay; 2nd National Vice NPP Chairman, Sammy Crabbe; NPP National Organiser, John Boadu; NPP National Women’s Organiser, Otiko Afisa Djaba; NPP National Youth Organiser, Sammy Awuku; Parliamentary Minority Leader and MP for Suame, Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensa-Bonsu; former presidential aspirant and former Minister of Trade, Industry and PSIs under President Kufuor, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen; MP for Mampong and former presidential aspirant, Hon. Francis Addai Nimo; former presidential aspirant and former Minister of Information, Hon. Stephen Asamoah Boateng; Political Assistant, Francis Asenso-Boakye; Press Secretary, Eugene Arhin; Campaign Aides, Iddrisu Musah ‘Superior’ and Pius Hadzide, together with regional stalwarts like the Acting Greater Accra Regional NPP Chairman, Alfred Boye; former Mayor of Accra, Nii Adjiri Blankson; former 1st deputy Speaker of Parliament and former MP for Dome Kwabenya, Prof. Mike Oquaye; former Greater Accra Regional Minister and former MP for Ayawaso Central, Hon. Sheikh I.C. Quaye; former Minister for Manpower Development and Employment, Hon. Cecilia Bannerman; and former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Hon. Ayikoi Otoo.