There should not be bloodshed to gain political power – Akuffo Addo

Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Friday stated that there will be no cause for any individual or group of political activists to engage in bloodshed, mayhem or political violence to further political ambitions.

He therefore cautioned political opponents who allegedly promised to visit violence and general insecurity onto citizens should they loose in the December general elections to rescind their decisions and re-focus on the development and progress of the country.

Nana Akufo-Addo said these at Nandom in the Lawra District when he addressed a rally as part of his four-day campaign tour of the Upper West Region.

“There is no need to drop the blood of Ghanaians for the sake of elections and those who are preaching violence are either not Ghanaians or do not love Ghanaians.”

He said Ghanaians were all one people with a common goal whether they were from the North or South and called on those whipping up the interest of citizens in either groups to stop the practice as its consequences were destructive and retarded progress and development.

On the employment of the teeming Ghanaian youth, the NPP Presidential Candidate said given the mandate, he would expand the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) by adding other components that would engage more school leavers to be fruitfully employed.

He said National Health Insurance Scheme would further be pursued to include a lot more people and cautioned parents against prolific child bearing as that could defeat the purpose of family planning.

The Presidential Candidate said, although the Kufuor Administration had stemmed the galloping inflation and interest rates, global economic crisis were having a toll on the Ghanaian economy which, “we have strategized to bring under control.

Nana Akufo-Addo said with the discovery of oil in the country more development projects, employment and better working conditions would be spelt out for Ghanaian workers and the burden on the national economy would be reduced.

He promised to revitalize the vocational and technical sectors of education so as to increase the manpower development of the country.

His third day of campaign tour took him to Tain and Jirapa, and Duori in the Jirapa district, Lawra and nandom in the Lawra District and Hamile and Lambussie in the Lambissie district.

Nana Akufo-Addo paid glowing tribute to S.D. Dombo, Jato Kaleo, B.K. Adama, Abeifaa Karbo and Mumuni Dumbie all sons of the Region who founded the United Party (UP) tradition.

Mr Alan Kyeremanten who also accompanied the NPP Presidential Candidate said the December battle lines had been drawn and strategized and they were only waiting for December seven to confirm Nana Akufo-Addo as president.

He said it would be a mistake to change the NPP which he described as a performing government in the elections and called on party faithful in the Region to fight hard to win both presidential and parliamentary elections.

Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo, a former Cabinet Minister said the NPP government had facilitated communication in the country by creating an enabling environment for expansion of mobile phone networks.

He said about eight million Ghanaians now used mobile phones as compared to only 200,000 people in 2000.

“It is now easy for me to stand here to talk to my relatives in the village that I come from which was not the case in the NDC regime”.

Other people who accompanied the Presidential Candidate and spoke at various venues were Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Women and Children Affairs, Mr Ambrose Dery, Minister of State, Attorney General and Justice, Mr Godfred Tangu, Minister of State, Transportation, Ms Gloria Akuffo Ambassador Designate to the Republic of Ireland.

The rest included, Mr. George Hikah Benson, Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Sahanun Mogtari, Ambassador for Burkina Faso, Mr. Clement Eledi, Deputy Minister, Food and Agriculture and Moctar Bamba, a member of the Campaign team.