President Nana Akufo-Addo
PRESIDENT NANA Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Wednesday ended his three-day campaign tour of the Ashanti Region, with a call on the people to vote massively for him to retain power and sustain his splendid works.
Addressing a mammoth crowd at the famous Abbey’s Park, Ashanti New Town (Ashtown) in the Manhyia South Constituency in Kumasi on Wednesday evening, the President stated emphatically that nothing could stop his destined electoral victory towards Monday’s general elections and declared that he would win big.
Prior to his arrival at the rally grounds, the President’s convoy did a drive-through in Bantama where Deputy Chief of Staff, Francis Asenso-Boakye, is the NPP Parliamentary Candidate, after commissioning a new district police headquarters at Bohyen, also in the constituency.
Massive Crowd
Apart from the chants of ‘Four more for Nana’ and ‘No.1 On the Ballot’, the people clad in NPP paraphernalia followed the convoy on foot from Bohyen through the Abrepo Junction to Bantama, which was thought to be the ‘Florida’ of Ghana’s politics, with chants of ‘Yɛpɛ free education! Yɛmpɛ mortuary!’, ‘Yɛpɛ free education! Yɛmpɛ Okada!’, which simply translates as ‘We want free education, not mortuaries!’ and ‘We want free education, not commercializing motor transport!’
President Akufo-Addo was given a similar reception when he entered the Suame Magazine spare parts market where Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, is the NPP Parliamentary Candidate.
Popular dancehall artiste, Samini, put the icing on the cake when he mounted the stage to perform his ‘Kpoyarka’ hit song which talks about the sterling performance of Nana Akufo-Addo since becoming President on January 7, 2017.
Ashanti Support
President Akufo-Addo said the enthusiastic crowd that attended the last mega rally at Ashtown was a clear indication that Kumasi and Asanteman were solidly behind him to retain political power on Monday.
“Indeed, I am thrilled by this huge crowd that has assembled here today. This crowd tells me that Kumasiman and Asanteman are firmly behind me to emerge victorious in Monday’s elections,” the President declared.
Every Vote Counts
The President said even though he was the overwhelming favourite to win the impending presidential elections, NPP members should watch against complacency and rather vote in their numbers so that first round victory would be achieved.
“Don’t say to yourself that Nana Akufo-Addo has won the elections already so I will not vote. We need every available vote so that we shall finish the job in the first round and ensure that the country remained on the path of prosperity,” he advised.
Extols Napo
President Akufo-Addo also described the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, aka ‘Napo’, who is also the Education Minister, as a visionary and development-oriented leader.
According to him, Napo has clearly shamed his detractors who “continually said Akufo-Addo and Napo could not implement the famous Free Senior High School (SHS) programme, as he (Napo) had successfully implemented the positive programme.”
The President, without mincing words, stated that hard work and visionary leadership ensured the successful implementation of the Free SHS policy, which had become a game-changer in the country’s effort to accelerate development, stressing that Napo had made Ghanaians proud.
He, therefore, entreated the teeming electorates in the Manhyia South Constituency to vote massively for himself and Napo, stressing that “Napo is the type of person that Ghana needs to help accelerate national transformation. He has proven himself.”
President Akufo-Addo disclosed that through the Free SHS programme, Ghana had become the envy of the world, pointing out that “all the countries that I have visited since I became the President, my colleague Presidents are marvelled about the Free SHS programme.”
NPP For Growth
According to him, the NPP administration has the blueprint for the effective development of the country in order to spread prosperity among the citizenry, reiterating his passionate appeal to the electorate to cast their ballot for the NPP on Monday.
“In my first term as President, I have worked assiduously to lay a concrete foundation for the proper and effective transformation of the state, therefore Ghanaians need to vote for me and all the NPP Parliamentary Candidates (PC) to continue our good works.
“I am appealing to you to give me four more years to do more for you. Through my decisive and effective leadership style, all sectors of the state including education, roads, health and agriculture, just to mention a few, have witnessed massive growth,” he said.
Jabs Mahama
President Akufo-Addo also descended heavily on former President John Mahama, who is the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate, saying “his campaign has collapsed because Ghanaians don’t see him as a good leader.”
He particularly lambasted the NDC leader for falsely claiming that he (Mahama) introduced the Free SHS programme, indicating that the NDC Presidential Candidate seemed confused as he had been peddling blatant lies to secure undeserved votes.
FROM Charles Takyi-Boadu & I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi