Ghanaian actor, Agya Koo, has declared support for Nana Akufo-Addo, presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and called on Ghanaians to vote for the party come the December general polls.
The actor has embarked on a self-sponsored campaign to galvanise votes for the NPP, and he says his aim is to win for the party some 57 percent of total valid votes during the polls.
NEWS-ONE reproduces an unedited press statement Agya Koo issued to explain why he wants a change of government during this year’s elections:
PRESS STATEMENT BY KOFI ADU (AGYA KOO) ON THE LAUNCH OF AGYA KOO AGENDA 57% FOR NANA ADDO
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, I wish first of all to express my sincere gratitude to you all for honoring my invitation. I stand before you here today as a concerned Ghanaian who is deeply troubled by the direction this country is going.
I speak the voice of the ordinary Ghanaian who is bearing the brunt of extreme economic hardships which has come about as a result of poor leadership.
I have personally sat back and monitored critically how things are going and felt the need to join the crusade for change in the political administration of this country.
Let me state emphatically clear that I am not here to compete with any individual or engage in any wayward political stunt.
As a movie star, I have travelled far and wide across the country and have seen the conditions many Ghanaians are going through on daily basis trying to acquire one-square meals a day.
Many Ghanaians today face unprecedented precarious economic hardships which have consequently led to job losses and high unemployment rate, poor healthcare provision and cut-throat utility bills.
As a Ghanaian, I feel the pinch of the escalating prices of goods and services on the market and cannot keep quiet. I have, therefore, decided to join the call for change in the direction of leadership since it is the only way the country can see development and progress.
I am very sure that most of you were around in 2008 and witnessed the economic conditions that prevailed at that time.
I do not want to bore your ears with a reminder but we all were witnesses to the fact that goods and services were affordable and every ordinary Ghanaian could afford it.
One would, therefore, wonder why conditions in this country have become so deplorable within the spate of eight years.
Today, it is sad to compare how these same prices of goods and services have increased astronomically as a result of poor economic policies and performance of the current leadership.
Now, the ordinary Ghanaian cannot afford basic items like milk, sugar, rice, bread and other household commodities. We have taken the trouble to do a thorough research of prices of goods and services on the market and compared them to the time of the NPP administration.
I challenge anyone who disagrees with me to do his or her own checks from the markets to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of this sad situation.
Apart from being a movie star as many Ghanaians know to be, I am also a parent and know how expensive it is to give your children quality education in this country.
It is for this and other reasons that I have decided to join the voice for change by declaring my support for the presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo.
I have, therefore, decided to launch the ‘THE AGYA KOO AGENDA 57% FOR NANA ADDO’ to support the campaign of the NPP in order to help bring the much needed change.
My objective, therefore, is to interact with ordinary voters and share my experience on the need for change in leadership in the country since it is the only way this country can see progress.
Thank you so much for honoring my invitation and God Bless.