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01.03.2019 General News

Prof. Alabi Extends Gratitude To All

Prof. Alabi Extends Gratitude To All
01.03.2019 LISTEN

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, thank you very much for responding to my invitation. I decided to invite you here today because I have not been able to grant the requests for interviews some of you have made after our just ended 2019 NDC primaries. I, therefore, hope to use this forum to address some of the many questions you may have as a follow up to the concession statement I issued on Saturday evening.

As you are well aware, I completed my term as Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) on 31st December 2016. At that time, the position of flag-bearer for my Party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was vacant. After consultations with my immediate family, some elders of the Party, friends, and comrades, it became evident that given the opportunity I can lead this country and work with the citizens to turn Ghana into a modern economy that works for all Ghanaians.

My background as an Industrial Economist and International Marketer, my experience in national governance, political Party management, sports administration, educational and organizational management coupled with my impressive track record of excellent achievements in all of these fields lend much credence to that conviction. The strong recognition that Ghana has invested so much in me and it was now time to answer to a higher call of working together with the good people of Ghana, to build on earlier foundations to create the Ghana that we all want, was a much deeper calling to which I had to answer. A Ghana that works for every Ghanaian citizen and is characterized by Peace, Prosperity, and Progressiveness was what I saw in my dreams every now and then.

Ladies and gentlemen, with this conviction, I decided to run for the flagbearership of my Party, the great NDC. The aim was to revamp, rebrand and reposition the NDC to win election 2020 and beyond through reforms of Party policies and structures, by ensuring greater involvement of the grassroots of the Party. With this vision, I set off to build Team Alabi and to start my campaign for the flag-bearer race. As we have it now, I placed 2nd with about 3,400 votes. “Project Primaries” is over, the referees have whistled, “game primaries” is over. We now need to look ahead.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the purpose of this press conference is:

(i) To thank all who encouraged me during the consultative processes, and express great faith in my ability to make a difference for our Party and Ghana.

(ii) To thank the rank and file of the Party who received my message of hope with enthusiasm, which encouraged me to keep going and for the eventual outcome.

(iii) To thank all aspirants and their teams for coming out boldly with us, that together, we enriched the democratic credentials of our Party and for the civil manner in which we all conducted ourselves.

(iiii) To thank my Campaign Team for their dedication, commitment and sense of good judgment.

(v) To push forward the principle of “Possible Together” a core principle of the Team Alabi campaign, which calls for unity, comradeship, and sense of belonging, believing that we can only achieve “NDC Agenda Win 2020” only when we stand together.

The Campaign

I went into the flagbearership race to win and I was confident I was going to win because I assembled some of the finest brains in the Party to form a very strong team with a strong vision, which we communicated very well.

Going round the country, I observed a leadership challenge, the challenge of empowering our people to take responsibility for working with the leaders of this country to create the Ghana we all want – a peaceful, prosperous and progressive Ghana. I observed that it was not leaders who were failing the people but the lack of leadership is failing our people and there is the need to invoke leadership at all levels of our economy.

Our people are helpless and vulnerable, as they await the arrival of the ship carrying solutions to their poor living conditions, there is a need to help them take the steps to reach the ship. In this journey, I have learned a lot about our people and their struggles, and I feel very humbled. I have learnt that when you wake up in the morning and find something to eat, safe water to drink, a decent place to lay your head in the evening, have easy access to healthcare, have access to places of convenience, drive on fairly motorable roads and be in the position to make informed judgments, there is need to give praise and thanks to the Almighty God, for many of our folks in the countryside are not that fortunate.

In all of these deprivations and hardships, I saw hope and solutions all around us. Yet, we need leadership to create and deliver solutions. Leadership, in my opinion, is not what leaders do alone but rather leaders and members working together to achieve their collective goals and aspirations. The leadership responsibility is not that of the leaders alone but a collective responsibility.

My Party the NDC has spoken and we have selected our leader and Presidential Candidate, we now require leadership to achieve our goals and leadership requires everybody’s involvement. This is why we need all hands on deck. I am confident that with unity our Party, the NDC will win the 2020 elections. I wish to use this opportunity to call on all the other aspirants to contribute towards NDC Agenda Win 2020.

Aftermath of the Primaries

As a congress, the NDC is made up of people of different shades of opinion and propositions. During our internal contest for the primaries, such differences in opinions and propositions would have played. The contest for a leader is over; it is now time for Leadership. I encourage all of us to put our differences behind us and refrain from acts of omissions or commissions that can divide us now that the contest has ended. It is now time to face the NPP and win back power to provide the solutions that the people of Ghana so much need and it requires unity. We are the great Akatamanso political Party with an umbrella as our symbol; we shield the people from the hardships of the season through unity.

As I have already stated in my concession statement, I have urged and appealed to my support base to work harder for the victory of the NDC in 2020, and I trust all other aspirants have done same.

Team Alabi

I wish to take this opportunity to thank my Campaign Team, Team Alabi for standing with me. Your commitment and contributions were unparalleled. My special thanks go to senior comrades, His Excellency Ambassador Victor Gbeho and Rt. Hon. Kenneth Dzirazah for availing your wealth of knowledge and experience for the Team and for touring the entire country with the Team. Your presence, strategic and tactical advice were sources of inspiration and guidance to the Team. To the younger members, you have gained experiences, which must be put at the disposal of the entire Party now. I salute you for your convictions and unwavering commitment. You have my respect and love. I salute you all.

The NDC Party

To my Party executives at national, regional, constituency and branch levels, I encourage you to learn from the steps taken by the National Chairman and the General Secretary of our Party, soon after the contest. They are doing the needful of healing the past and positioning us for 2020. In your own ways too, I urge you to take steps to unite the grassroots and avoid factionalism flowing out of the campaign to Saturday’s polls. Exchanges of words are common during debates, but let us move on now that we are done with the elections. We must let our people know that we are sailing in a common boat into victory 2020, so there should be no need to feed moments of divisions and rancor. That will only rock the sailing boat.

The Media

To the Media, I thank you very much. You showed interest in my campaign and helped in preaching my vision throughout the length and breadth of this country. By this, you contributed to supporting, promoting and deepening democracy in our dear country. You positioned the NDC and my campaign very well. Now that we are done with the contest, I encourage you to continue to shape Ghana’s democracy, by providing unbiased access to the right information. Always remember that you are the gatekeepers of Ghana’s democracy. Do what it takes to protect, support and promote Ghana’s democracy.

Thanking God

Ladies and gentlemen of the Media, I went round the length and breadth of this country without a single incidence of casualty or loss, so I thank the Almighty God for his protection, guidance, and favour for my Team and I. I trust that his grace and favour will continue to abide with us all.

To the NPP

NPP, get ready… The NDC is coming like kakaii.

Thank You all.

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Desmond Nana Osei
Desmond Nana Osei

Western Region CorrespondentPage: DesmondNanaOsei

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