NPP sets up prayer groups

The leadership of the opposition New Patriotic Party has directed all of the party’s branches across the country to set up prayer groups, both Christian and Muslim, by August 20 to seek God’s favour in their quest to win the 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Speaking to Citi News, NPP General Secretary Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie aka Sir John, said both the Bible and the Quran admonished the faithful to trust in the Lord, especially when they faced a battle, and it was therefore only natural that the main opposition party “seeks the face of the Lord” in the crucial 2012 electoral battle.

“We believe that if we put our trust in the Lord and in Allah as our Muslim brothers will say then God will manifest Himself in our direction and ensure that we win the 2012 elections. We believe in the efficacy of prayer and we believe that if we pray and we are sincere about the prayer God will answer us in due course.”

He revealed that the present NPP national executive already had a prayer camp in the party headquarters where the faithful prayed from “4am to 6am everyday” for the party “and we believe that the successes that we chalked in our presidential and parliamentary primaries were all due to the prayers that we prayed to Almighty God.”

Responding to likely criticism that the NPP had abandoned its earlier position of questioning President Mills’s alleged setting up of a prayer camp at the seat of government, Mr Afriyie denied the NPP had shifted the goal posts, insisting “we have not criticized President Mills for setting up a prayer camp; we believe in the efficacy of prayer. But we also believe that when God gives you direction, you must also work towards that. So as you continue to pray to God, you must also act.

“Governments are there to govern so as you put your trust in the Lord and God shows you the way, then you must demonstrate that by working to ensure that everything is fine.”

But President Mills had failed to act, Sir John maintains.