With the completion of many preparatory works for the NPP primaries, the party is set to elect the new NPP Presidential Candidate for the 2024 general elections on 4th November, 2023.
This is an internal election which must be undertaken peacefully to ensure that the Party unity prevails at the end of the elections. It is my special appeal to the delegates to complete the work which was started by the Special Delegates elections which took place on 26th August, 2023.
The results of the Special Delegates election clearly confirmed that the leaders of the various Regions which constituted the delegates made a choice and the choice was Dr. Bawumia.
The decision they took was not imposed on them as some people would like others to believe but as leaders, they made the choice after careful consideration of various facts on the ground especially the future of the NPP and how the Party would extricate the country from the current economic difficulties and fulfil its mandate to Ghanaians. The choice they made needs a confirmation on 4th November, 2023 and I appeal to all the delegates to affirm the choice without any reservation.
The Party’s mandate cannot be fulfilled completely within the eight years of governance, hence the need to break the “8”. Breaking the “8” is not going to be easy without the support of many Ghanaians considering the current economic situation. The delegates must therefore choose a candidate who understands the economy, the state of it and what needs to be done. The arguments to be put across must sound very convincing to the Ghanaian electorate.
Besides the economic issues, the candidate to be chosen should be incorruptible and have the capacity to defeat former President John Mahama. The only aspirant amongst the contestants who can do this, to my mind is Dr. Bawumia.
The economic crisis in many countries of the world today is very serious- whether it is a developed or underdeveloped country but In Ghana, the propagandists want everybody to believe that only Ghanaians are suffering as a result of Government’s failure. In Ghana, the economic crisis started with four years of “Dumsor” and two years after that came COVID-19. Any Ghanaian who does not accept that these two major events seriously affected the economy is not being truthful. The fact of the matter was that two years post “Dumsor” was not long enough to address its damage to the economy and the effects of COVID-19 that followed aggravated the situation.
The Soviet Union-Ukraine war and its effects on fuel and grains also created further difficulties for many countries but strangely the NDC and some Ghanaians want others to believe that the NPP under Nana Addo is responsible for these events. One issue however which has affected the country’s finances to some degree is the introduction of free SHS.
In my previous write-ups I have not hidden my support for free SHS because I believe it is the best thing that has ever happened to this country in recent times, and I think we must bear the cost in good faith for the development of the next generation.
Dear Delegates, other economic issues such as corruption, the attitude of Ghanaians and lack of patriotism, indiscipline and many more are all part of the problems affecting the economy which need to be addressed. We have compromised solutions to these problems in many ways, we have been weak in enforcing discipline and lack the commitment and morale courage to fight corruption. We therefore need a change and a leader who can make the difference. We need a leader who is incorruptible, disciplined, upright, courageous and bold to fight these evils in our society.
In addition, the NDC propaganda machinery is sharp with lies and deceit and the more reason why we need a competent candidate who can hold these criticisms at bay and diffuse all the deceit and lies. The major objective of the party is breaking the “8” and this requires an unblemished and disciplined leader.
There are now four Presidential candidates from whom one must be chosen and the choice must be based on some criteria. I humbly suggest the following four important ones among many others for your consideration. Firstly, you need to consider loyalty to the Party as the number one factor that is not negotiable. Secondly, the candidate to be chosen must be disciplined, honest and incorruptible.
Thirdly, the candidate should be capable of defeating President Mahama in order to break the “8”. Fourthly, the economic situation in the country demands a solution. Consequently, the candidate must be someone who knows the state of our economy, has been involved in finding solutions to the current crisis, must be prepared to convince the electorate the way forward to improve conditions and minimise the suffering. Experimentation at this stage will be an expensive exercise and will prolong the suffering of our people.
Some Ghanaians are not happy with the economy due to difficulties being experienced and consequently, the NDC Communication directorate has orchestrated many schemes to throw more dust (as it were) on the President and the Government. Dr. Bawumia has not been excluded from this bashing but he is not the President and cannot be held liable for what is happening.
We need somebody in this Government, who can explain the details of the current economic situation to Ghanaians, what went wrong and what needs to be done to stabilise the situation and to ensure growth.
The economic growth cannot only be achieved on paper but needs the morale and physical support of Ghanaians to succeed. We need a Candidate who can appeal to the electorate and the youth to understand our predicament and rally support to vote him to the presidency.
The candidate with a strong and an unblemished character and especially uncorrupted to stand, fight and ward off these criticisms is Dr, Bawumia.
The 2024 presidential elections will be fought on personalities and by this, I mean between former President Mahama and the candidate to be elected by the NPP. We therefore need a candidate young enough, with intellectual abilities to counter whatever is thrown at him and the Party and that candidate to me is Dr Bawumia.
The younger voter population constitute approximately sixty per cent of the current registered voters which translates to the age group of 55 years and below. These age groups feel that the older generation and politicians have badly let them down. As a result, many young voters are looking for younger leaders and not septuagenarians or octogenarians to lead them.
Even though President Mahama is about 65 years of age, his performance as a President for six years exposed his weaknesses badly to the public and any smart politician can use them to his advantage. I strongly believe that Dr. Bawumia can do it.
You should not be disturbed by the recent resignation of Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanteng because his relevance in NPP ceased in 2007 after his first resignation. His second resignation and the reasons he has given has proved that in the absence of pampering, he is no politician at all and the resignation should be treated as a distraction. His resignation has removed all doubts about manipulations in the current process which to my mind is good for the Party.
The fight ahead – breaking the “8” is a major battle that needs a candidate with a strong personality and character like Dr Bawumia, who stood tall and fought for the NPP during the election petition trial in 2012.
The time has come for Dr. Bawumia to receive his reward for his fight at the Supreme Court, an event which caught many founders with trepidation. Your vote for Dr. Bawumia must be emphatic to convince every member of the Party and the Ghanaian electorate that the NPP has really made a choice.
Dear delegates, remember that the choice you make will affect the Party and the lives of many Ghanaians who look to NPP for salvation.The major problem facing the country now is the economy and who can fix it. This question will be answered by majority of Ghanaian voters in 2024 elections. What you need to do is to select a candidate who can convince and mobilise Ghanaians to vote for NPP.
As I have said earlier the contest will be between former President Mahama and who the NPP elects (Bawumia). Remember the election will be fought on personalities and not on NPP and NDC. That choice has already been made by your leaders and what is required of you is to affirm it.
I have nothing against the other candidates but looking at the tasks ahead I think Dr. Bawumia is the best suited for them because he has the charisma, the intellect, the sympathy of the youth and the strength to accomplish it.
Elect Dr. Bawumia and make NPP proud.
By Brig-Gen (Rtd) J. Odei