Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, has assured Ghanaians he will treat all citizens with the utmost respect if he comes to power.

According to him, he will also jealously guard the public purse for the improvement of their livelihoods.

“I am not coming into office to lord power over the people. Neither, am I coming into office to use disrespectful language on the people. I will not say to Ghanaians that they have short memories. I am also not coming into office to steal the people’s money to fill my pockets. That’s not why I am seeking your mandate.”

The 2016 NPP presidential candidate made this known on Friday, November 4, 2016, when he addressed residents at Ateiku, a village in the Wassa East constituency, in the Western Region, on the 1st day of his tour of the region.

Nana Akufo-Addo assured residents of Ateiku, as well Ghanaian populace, that “I am coming into office to use the little wisdom, knowledge and strength the good Lord has given me to help move Ghana forward, so we can create wealth, jobs and prosperity for all Ghanaians.”

He noted that “every nation whose leader has love for the country, is experienced, and is backed by an able team of competent men and women, is a nation which will transform its circumstances and improve on the livelihoods of its citizenry within a relatively short period of time.”

That, the NPP flagbearer stressed, “is what I am offering the good people of Ghana”.

Having announced a programme of for the rapid industrialization of the Ghanaian economy; ‘1-District-1-Factory’ policy; ‘1-Village-1-Dam’ policy; the diversification of the country’s agriculture; the effective implementation of the Free SHS policy; and the setting up of an Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP), where every constituency will receive the cedi equivalent of $1 million a year to tackle developmental issues, Nana Akufo-Addo has assured Ghanaians that these policies will be implemented to the latter when he is given the mandate to serve Ghana in the December 7 election.

“These are not election policies. I am not one to make promises I know I cannot keep, all in the hope of getting votes. I have too much love and respect for Ghanaians to make promises which I cannot fulfill. We have though through all these policies very well, and we know it can be done.”

He reiterated that “we in the NPP will not make promises we cannot keep. When we said we were going to implement the NHIS, they (NDC) said it could not be done. However, President Kufuor did it. Likewise, I am telling Ghanaians that Free SHS policy, amongst others, will be truly implemented to the benefit of all.”

With one of the mainstays of residents of Ateiku being the cultivation of cocoa, Nana Akufo-Addo assured that his government, God-willing, from 2017, will institute measures including, the payment of significantly higher producer prices of cocoa above the levels which the NDC administration has provided to farmers in the last 8 years; the reintroduction of bonuses scrapped by the NDC government; and the reintroduction and non-politicisation of the mass spraying exercise and the hi-tech programmes.

Whilst in the region on Friday, the NPP flagbearer visited Mpohor, Shama and Effia constituencies, climaxing his tour on the day with a mini-rally at the Takoradi polytechnic.


Source: Ghana/starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Kojo Addae/Freelancer

The Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), a London-based organization, has predicted victory for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the forthcoming Ghana polls.

“We expect Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP to be victorious at the December presidential and legislative elections, given popular frustration with Ghana’s poor economic performance under the recent National Democratic Congress administration,” said the EIU in its October report.

This prediction is the second from the EIU in the space of six months. Earlier in April, the EIU predicted a close win for the NPP.

The EIU continued that “Pre-election spending in 2016 will put pressure on the fiscal deficit target set in conjunction with the IMF, although the government will be more successful at resisting large-scale populist spending than in previous election years.”

This is not the first time the EIU is predicting the outcome of elections in the country – in February 2012, it predicted a win for the late President Prof. John Evans Mills, unfortunately he died before the elections were held.

Source: Ghana/StarrFMonline.com/103.5FM/Mohammed Awa

President John Mahama is out of touch with the reality in Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo has stated.

“The President claims all is moving on smoothly in Ghana, the reason why he is seeking a renewal of his mandate in office. President Mahama, clearly, does not feel your pain and suffering. He is impervious to the hardships Ghanaians are going through on a daily basis, in their efforts to make ends meet. I doubt he is living in Ghana with us, because if he was, he wouldn’t be making such comments,” the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer said in Kramoase, in the Atwima Kwanwoma constituency, at the beginning of his 4-day tour of the Ashanti region.

According to Nana Akufo-Addo, he is at a loss as to why the President will make comments to the effect that all is well with Ghana, in the midst of record levels of unemployment, rising cost of living, high utility tariffs, widespread despondency, and untold levels of hardship and suffering amongst the populace.

Nonetheless, the NPP presidential candidate is urging Ghanaians not to lose hope in the ability of the country to offer citizens a decent standard of living, stressing that an Akufo-Addo-led NPP government is coming into office to improve the conditions of living of Ghanaians.

“We have an opportunity this year to rid our nation of the suffering and hardship the Ghanaian is going through under the leadership of President Mahama. When we vote in a competent government in December, I assure you that Ghana will be put on the path of progress and prosperity once again. That is the task before us in Ghana in this year’s election”, Nana Akufo-Addo said.

Thus, the ‘1-District-1-Factory’ policy, ‘1-Village-1-Dam’ policy, the diversification of the country’s agriculture, the effective implementation of the Free SHS policy, the setting up of an Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP) the restoration of the teacher training and nursing training allowances, the effective implementation of the Free SHS policy, amongst others, he said, are policies that will bring progress and prosperity to Ghanaians.

With the cultivation of ginger being one of the major produce in Atwima Kwanwoma, the NPP flagbearer stated that, in line with his 1-District-1-Factory policy, “it will not be difficult to establish a ginger processing factory in this constituency. We are going to do that, I assure you.”

To this end, Nana Akufo-Addo told the hundreds and hundreds gathered at Kramoase “to repose your confidence in me, believing that all I have just said to you, I am coming to implement them. What I am telling you is nothing but the truth. I have too much respect for Ghanaians to lie to them and say things I know I cannot do.”

NPP is the only party that can unseat Mahama
With some 49 days to the conduct of the December 7 election, Nana Akufo-Addo stressed that “there is no other political party in Ghana that has the support and organization to remove the NDC from office, other than the NPP.”

Thus, “if you are a Ghanaian who is fed up with the hardship under Mahama, please come and ride on the back of the elephant and let us go together to Jubilee House, so we can go and do a good job for Ghanaians.”

The NPP flagbearer urged residents of Kramoase to vote massively for the NPP in this year’s elections, and increase the 80.83% margin of victory chalked by the party in the 2012 presidential election.

Nana Akufo-Addo also admonished party faithful to vote for the NPP’s parliamentary candidate for the constituency, Dr. Kwadwo Appiah Kubi, and ignore any calls by independent parliamentary candidates in the upcoming election to vote ‘skirt and blouse’ in the parliamentary election.


Source: Ghana/starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Wilberforce Asare

Ghana’s main opposition leader Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has taken a commanding lead in the social media race ahead of the 2016 general elections.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer has over 1,060,217 Facebook Likes as of Tuesday (October 18) as against his main rival President John Dramani Mahama’s 1,046,920.

The leader of the Dankwa-Busia-Dombo tradition has opened a gap of about 13,297 Likes on Facebook as the duo keep an active page to engage their followers about their activities on the campaign trail.

The Convention People’s Party’s Ivor Greenstreet has a paltry 30,455 Facebook followers.

However, in the space of the Microblogging platform – Twitter – Mahama dwarfed the NPP leader with over 277, 000 followers as against 112, 000 respectively.

Mahama, who is leading the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2016 polls, is locking horns with Akufo-Addo for the second time after the 2012 contest which ended in the Supreme Court.

After eight months of legal tussle the apex court of Ghana legitimized Mahama’s presidency.

Source: Ghana/starrfmonline.com/103.5FM

The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has stated that claims by members and “apologists” of the Mahama government that he is suffering from cancer will not derail his ambition.

According to Nana Akufo-Addo, in the face of an abysmal record in office, which has led to widespread hardship and suffering amongst the people, the only option left for the current administration is to embark on an abusive campaign against him, the latest being that he is suffering from cancer.

“First they said I was a drug addict, it didn’t work. They said I was sick, it didn’t work. They said I was too old, it didn’t work. They said I was a hunchback, it didn’t work. They said I was a dwarf, it didn’t work. They said I was in a wheelchair, it didn’t work. They said I am a murderer, it didn’t work.

“They said I will die in June, it didn’t work. They said I was a dictator, it didn’t work. They said I was intolerant, it didn’t work. They said I was violent, it didn’t work. They said I had a secret agenda to destabilise the country, it didn’t work. Now, they say I have cancer, it will not work,” Nana Akufo-Addo told members of the Bolgatanga Traditional Council in the Upper East region on Sunday, August 28 during his campaign tour.

Nana Akufo-Addo added, “it appears the only way the President will get a third term is when I am sick or I am dead. That is the only ground on which he will get his third term.”

Cataloguing a litany of President Mahama’s broken promises, Nana Akufo-Addo recounted how the NDC promised a “one time premium for the National Health Insurance Scheme,” and have reneged on this promise, 8 years after making it. Worse still, the NPP flagbearer noted that “not only did this promise not materialize, but they have collapsed the NHIS.”

He continued: “He (President Mahama) told us he was going to build 200 community day senior high schools. According to his Finance Minister, he has been able to build 9. He told us in 2012 that ‘dumsor’ will be over by 2013. We are in 2016, and ‘dumsor’ is still with us in Ghana. President Mahama was here in the North last week, and not once did he speak about SADA, because SADA has become a monumental failure.”



Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/

The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo, has argued it would be a grave mistake on the part of Ghanaians to retain President John Mahama for another four years in office,

According to the NPP flagbearer, Ghana is going through hardship now because Mahama has “no plan, vision or action to address the problems of our people.”

Nana Akufo-Addo said: “It would be a mistake to continue with where we are now. So many of the important aspects of our national life, today, are all in retreat. Our economy is in poor shape, and I don’t think there is any honest person in this country, today, who can say Ghana’s economy is working well. It is not working well. Our industries are not working well, our agriculture is not working well, and unemployment amongst our young people is reaching record proportions.”

In spite of these, the NPP flagbearer is assuring Ghanaians that an NPP government under his leadership has a “programme and plan of how Ghana could be, if given the chance”, to serve Ghanaians.

Nana Akufo-Addo was addressing the Bolgatanga Traditional Council, on Sunday, August 28, 2016, when he made these remarks.

The NPP flagbearer explained that the party’s programme of developing Ghana, and returning her onto the path of progress and prosperity is hinged on the twin-track of industrializing Ghana’s economy as well as increasing agricultural productivity.

This, he added, are the means by which his government, God-willing from 2017, is going to create jobs for the teeming masses of unemployed Ghanaians.

“The most critical thing that all of us have to work on is how to improve the functioning of our economy. If our economy is working well, jobs will be created, income levels will rise and we will have prosperity in the country. That is the only way we can guarantee prosperity. An economy in decline or in retreat only means poverty for all of us. The economy that is working means all of us will be in a better place that where we are today in Ghana,” he stated.

The spectre of young men and women trooping down-South from the North, to find non-existent jobs, he said, is because there are virtually no opportunities for them in Northern Ghana.

“We can reverse all of that with proper planning and serious policy. We are determined to do so in the interest of Ghanaians. What is important for us to do in Ghana is to make sure that every part of the country becomes its own centre of wealth. This situation whereby all wealth is concentrated in Accra and Kumasi is dangerous for the future of the country,” he said.

He continued, “It means that these two poles have everybody rushing there. We want every part of Ghana to be its own growth pole and area of wealth creation. That is why we are talking about ‘1-District-1Factory’, so that in every area there is an activity ongoing which will engage them and improve their living circumstances.”

Nana Akufo-Addo, thus, appealed for the support of the people of the North in this year’s elections, assuring that “we have got, without any reservation, the best team available in Ghanaian politics today to develop our country. We have high quality men and women, who when given the opportunity, can turn Ghana around in a short period of time can put smiles on their faces, money in their pockets and prosperity in every region. It is possible for us to do it.”

“It is being done next door to us in Cote d’Ivoire – a smaller country, less population, less resources. But, because of the quality of the leadership there, they are makes big leaps and bounds there. I believe that it is possible on the back of the elephant to rebuild our nation and bring prosperity back to Ghana.”
Source: Ghana/starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Kojo Addae/Freelancer

New Patriotic Party flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the election petition, said the entire process proved to Ghanaians he is a true leader.

“I said, on the day the judgement was delivered, that everything in my bones, in the way I was brought up and in how I have conducted my life thus far, made it imperative that I accept a decision of the highest court of our land, even though I might disagree with it. I thank the Lord that He gave me that inner strength to display the leadership when required,” the former attorney general said in a statement to mark the third anniversary of the petition which challenged the 2012 presidential results.

The Supreme Court in its judgment affirmed the NDC candidate John Mahama as the president after eight months of legal tussle.

Below is the full statement of Nana Addo:

Exactly three years ago, on August, 29, 2013, the Supreme Court, the highest court of our nation, delivered a 5-4 majority judgement that brought an end to the election petition that the late Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, Mahamudu Bawumia and I had filed in the court, challenging the validity of the results of the 2012 presidential election. The majority decision rejected our challenge.

After proceedings that lasted eight months, Ghana came out with her democratic credentials enhanced. We proved to the world that we were willing and able to submerge our individual and partisan preferences for the common good. We demonstrated clearly that it was not the ambitions of Akufo-Addo, nor the fortunes of the NPP, that we sought to promote. The stability and progress of Ghana, and the enhancement of her democracy were the paramount considerations that guided our every action in those difficult days.

I said, on the day the judgement was delivered, that everything in my bones, in the way I was brought up and in how I have conducted my life thus far, made it imperative that I accept a decision of the highest court of our land, even though I might disagree with it. I thank the Lord that He gave me that inner strength to display the leadership when required.

The message from the majority on the Court was clear, and to the effect that, regardless of the infractions or irregularities that might happen on Election Day, what happens at the polling station is sacred and results declared there will not be reversed. We, in the NPP, have taken that message to heart.

However, it must be pointed out that the sanctity of the ballot is and must be supreme. It is the expression of preference involved in the casting of the ballot that is sacred – the rest of the activities are, at best, administrative exercises. The count, the collation, the transmission and the declaration of results cannot and should not be more important than the sacred, God-given right of a citizen expressing his or her choice represented by the casting of his or her ballot.

The strength of any democracy is very much determined by the credibility of its electoral system. It is in our collective interest that we ensure that the rules and regulations for the conduct of elections are fair and transparent, and that we all develop respect for them. There should be no lingering questions about the legitimacy of an election, and the winning candidate at the end of the process should receive the unalloyed support of all. That is how we can strengthen our democracy and the peace and stability of our nation.

With three months to the holding of the December 2016 election, our economy is in crisis, businesses are collapsing, the cost of living is unbearably high for the ordinary person, our youth remain without employment, our children are failing in their examinations, cash and carry is effectively back in our hospitals, and we are experiencing strikes all over. God did not put us on this rich land to be poor. It is bad leadership that makes us poor.

I believe I can, in all humility, provide, with God’s guidance and the assistance of a capable team, the leadership that is needed to return Ghana onto the path of progress and prosperity, were the Ghanaian people to entrust me with their mandate. I am appealing to Ghanaians to repose their confidence in me in December, and together we shall make the Black Star of Africa rise and shine again.

The battle is still the Lord’s!

God bless our democracy! God bless Ghana! God bless Mother Africa!

……signed……
Nana Akufo-Addo
2016 NPP Presidential Candidate


Source: Ghana/starrfmonline.com/103.5FM

The presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo will make Ghana a global icon when he becomes president of Ghana come January 7, 2017, according to his spokesperson, Mustapha Hamid.

He said Nana Addo is “just a man who has a passion for the development of our country, who wants to leave a mark, a certain legacy… of having brought about or having triggered the process that allowed Ghana to become what it is, a global icon in the 21st century.”

Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM, he said going through some terrible roads in the Western region during the Nana Addo’s campaign, he [Nana Addo] turned to him and said “Mustapha, you know what? This part of our country is an epitome or if you want a clear demonstration of our post colonial history.”

This, according to Akufo-Addo, said Mr. Hamid “tells the Ghanaian story that this is the country with all the rich resources that you can think about, gold, diamond, timber, bauxite and then oil and yet it is one of the poorest nations in the world.”

“He [Nana Addo] says that is not the history that we should accept to live,” he added.

Mr. Hamid continued stating that when one goes to the Northern part of the Western region that “history immediately hits you, because you go to major towns like Prestea, Bogorsu and Tarkwah and you see town…and you will think that these are basically manholes.”

He said Nana Addo is going to fix all of those setbacks in the region when he becomes president.

But Vice president Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur described the opposition NPP’s campaign message heading to the forthcoming elections as “a threat to the peaceful coexistence” of the country.

Speaking during the launch of the NDC 2016 campaign at the Cape Coast Stadium in the Central region Sunday, Mr. Amissah Arthur chastised the NPP message warning that it is extremely divisive and must be disregarded.

He said President John Mahama is the best for Ghana and that it will be foolhardy for the electorate to subscribe to the NPP’s “change is coming message” which is a “threat to the stability and peace of this country.”

But, Mr. Hamid contended that he did not understand the logic in the vice president’s words, pointing out that “in my conscious lifetime, I have seen the creation of the Upper West region.”

“Hitherto,” he added “that part of the country was called the Upper Region and then the Upper West was carved from what is now called the Upper East, principally on the same strength of the arguments that we are making…”

He said as part of democratic development it is always important to redraw boundaries based on issues of geography of distance, deprivation among others.

Source: Ghana/starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/ Mohammed Awal

The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says the government of President Mahama, over the last eight years, has proven itself to be incompetent at finding solutions to the myriad of problems confronting Ghanaians.

According to Nana Akufo-Addo, against a backdrop of an economy in tatters, declining growth in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, coupled with the inability of Ghanaian youth to find jobs, rising cost of living, widespread and rampant corruption, and an ailing NHIS, Ghanaians must show President Mahama the exit on December 7.

“President Mahama has no solutions to the problems of our country. He is an impediment to the progress of our nation. We cannot continue to seek the progress of Ghana with him in office… Ghanaians have become too miserable under Mahama. We are on a rich land, and yet we are drenched in hunger, poverty and suffering. This is not right,” he said.

Urging Ghanaians to give him and the NPP the opportunity in this year’s elections, the NPP flagbearer is assuring that “we are coming to change these statistics. We are coming to prudently manage the finances of Ghana to improve the living conditions of Ghanaians.”

Nana Akufo-Addo made this known when he addressed thousands of NPP supporters and sympathisers, as well as residents of Sekondi, on Sunday, August 14, at the campaign launch of the NPP’s parliamentary candidate for the Sekondi constituency, Andrew Egyapa Mercer.

“We are asking for power from Ghanaians not because we want to lord it over them, or to steal the monies of poor Ghanaians. No! We seek power to enable us to serve the people, and implement policies and programmes that will bring development, progress and prosperity to all Ghanaians,” he said

To this end, the NPP flagbearer reiterated his pledge towards the industrial development of Ghana, when he wins this year’s elections, stating that “this is the next phase of the development of Ghana.”

He noted that an Akufo-Addo government will be coming into office “to help establish industries in this country so as to create jobs for our youth. These industries will also include the establishment of an aluminum industry from our bauxite deposists, an iron and steel industry from our iron ore deposits at Oppon Manso, amongst others.”

Ghana’s railway sector, which once had its hub in the Western Region, he said will be revived and developed to aide in the industrialization programme of the NPP.

“We are going to rehabilitate our railway sector. That is our commitment. For the last 8 years, President Mahama’s government has shown little commitment towards the development of our railways. We are coming to do it,” he said, drawing rousing applause from the thousands gathered.

Nana Akufo-Addo also bemoaned the deplorable living conditions of fisherfolk and residents along the coastal belt of Ghana, stating that “the fishing communities along the coast have been abandoned by the society, though they have a significant contribution to make to the development of Ghana.”

The NPP flagbearer therefore assured that “like the Northern Development Authority, one central feature of the NPP’s 2016 manifesto will be the establishment of a Coastal Development Authority to allow for the rapid development of the constituencies, and the improvement of the living conditions of Ghanaians resident along the coastline.”

Nana Akufo-Addo urged the Ghanaian electorate to have faith in him and the NPP, explaining that “I am not one to make promises I know I cannot keep, all in the name of getting votes. I have too much love and respect for Ghanaians to make promises which I cannot fulfill. I will never do that. Whatever I have said I will do.

“The ‘1-District-1-Factory’ policy, the development of our small scale industries, and the establishment of strategic industries can all be achieved through the prudent management of our resources.”

He indicated that whilst some neighbouring countries have made giant strides in the last 5 years, Ghana, however, within the same time frame, and under the leadership of President Mahama, is going backwards.

“Cote d’Ivoire, five or six years ago was coming out of civil war. The election in 2010 led to 100,000 displaced people, 3,000 people were killed as a result of the election between Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara. In five years, because of good, strong leadership, Cote d’Ivoire is today the number one investment destination in Africa. They are the toast of the continent.”

Nana Akufo-Addo, thus, appealed to the Ghanaian electorate to give him the opportunity “to do for Ghana, what Alassane Ouattara is doing for the Cote d’Ivoire” by voting massively for him and the NPP on December 7.


Source: Ghana/starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Kojo Addae/Freelancer