Akufo-Addo angry over “imposition claim”

The 2012 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, has chided critics who have accused National Executives of imposing leaders on the party.

Recent declaration of support for him by some party executives has been met with criticisms by political analysts and some party members.

But speaking at the first of ten regional 'Thank You Tours' by party executives across the country in Accra, Nana Akufo-Addo said the party has a culture that makes it impossible for leaders to be imposed on them.

He said: "Those who are going around saying that people are trying to force myself on the NPP, they don't know the NPP. Our party has never been about the cult of personality, that is not our party that we leave to other people but the NPP we believe in internal democracy and we will continue to believe in internal democracy."

According to him, "Since the NPP was formed in 1992, we've had three presidential candidates each one of us has been elected by democratic means and whoever is elected to lead the party to 2016 will be elected by democratic means."

"Those who do not wish this party well, the detractors and the critics of our party who talk about [imposing] leaders on the party, they are talking about another party they are not talking about the NPP," Akufo-Addo stressed.

The 2012 presidential candidate asked the party’s rank and file to unite and begin focusing on the 2016 elections.

"We have now finished with the election of 2012 and our party has to look ahead to the elections of 2016. We have to make sure that the conditions for victory in 2016 we meet those conditions," he said and urged for unity ahead of the elections.

He also noted that the party's contest to elect a flagbearer for the 2016 elections should be done "in a healthy, brotherly and sisterly manner."