President John Mahama has said the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has a long history of being anti-development and has, therefore, urged voters to reject the party and retain the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) in office in the December polls.

Speaking at the inauguration of a clinic at Kokompeh in Takoradi as part of his campaign tour of the Western Region, Mr Mahama said: “Dr. Nkrumah was a man of vision, he always thought about the future of the country. When he built the Akosombo dam, the UP tradition said it was just a flamboyant project but today the dam is still providing major parts of the country with electricity. The same people who ousted Nkrumah because they said he was embezzling state funds and undertaking unnecessary projects have metamorphosed to become the NPP.”

“In Cape Coast, our founder, Jerry John Rawlings advised us to beware of them because they’ve been in politics for a long time. They only change their names but do not change their character.

“It is these same people who say development is not edible. They say the roads, hospitals are not edible and that my government is only incurring huge debts and embezzling state funds claiming we have undertaken projects. They also say Ghanaians rather need money in their pockets, they sung this same song during Nkrumah’s time, today, they are at it again.”

President Mahama is seeking re-election for a second term. His main rival in the race is the NPP’s Nana Akufo-Addo.