President Nana Akufo-Addo signing the visiter’s book at the SONA as Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo look on
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday announced that he is running the 2020 presidential election with his vice, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, as his running mate after submitting nomination forms as per the dictates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He said maintaining Dr. Bawumia as his running mate was not a matter for us to think over. “This is Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. He still remains my running mate and I am confident in him. We are maintaining him; no change,” the President said as he lifted the hand of the respected economist in consonance with the party’s style.
The President submitted the nomination papers to the waiting hands of the party’s General Secretary, John Boadu, at the NPP national headquarters in Accra shortly after delivering the 2020 State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament.
The President said he paid GH¢20,000 to pick the forms and presented them alongside a banker’s draft of GH¢200,000 in favour of the NPP.
The President said at the party’s headquarters at Asylum Down that the NPP “is a party that operates by laws. As required by the laws of the party, any individual wishing to contest any position in the party is expected to pick and file nomination forms and that is why I am here today.”
He expressed gratitude to the leadership of the party for showing appreciation to him and counting him worthy to lead the party into the 2020 general election.
Recalling the antecedents of the party from the days of Dr. Danquah, through Lawyer S.T. Dombo, all the way to Busia, Victor Owusu and now to him, he noted that the faith reposed him was a source of great inspiration for him “and I am eternally grateful for all the love shown me.”
Having submitted the duly completed forms, he said “I have just one task ahead, and that is to lead you and the party to victory, come 7th December, 2020.”
John Boadu
NPP General Secretary John Boadu who received the completed forms observed that per the rules of the party, he (President) had filed accordingly. Going through his papers, he said “everything is intact, including his birth certificate and his CV.”
Voters’ Registration
The President said the NPP has three responsibilities; the first being to undergo voters’ registration for which he entreated the electorate to register for the new voters’ card and also vote massively for him as President and the party parliamentary candidates on December 7.
No Violence
Secondly, he pleaded with party faithful to eschew violence when choosing their parliamentary candidates so that the party’s image is not dragged in the mud.
Finally, he said and as he put the most serious of them “somebody says he couldn’t finish the job he started. I want to ask Ghanaians, what work is that person talking about? What work did he do?’ Ghanaians who he said are wiser and more enlightened should not fall for this kind of tricks. ‘We will not fall for this kind of politics,” he said, adding “to date, we have not heard from him. He only looks at the works I’m doing and criticizes them.”
“This is not how to govern a country. You won’t say what you want to do; you only criticize and talk ill of what another is doing,” he added.
7TH December
On 7th of December, he said, Ghanaians with their strengths, wisdom and unity would vote so massively “that the results of the 2020 elections would far exceed that of 2016.”
He noted that the NPP is the hope of Ghanaians who are looking up to it work to deliver peace and development.
“The party has done part of its assignments and will do more,” he said, as he entreated all to help him with four more years to do more.
“4 more 4 Nana; 4 more to do more,” he screamed the new political slogan.
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio