Search for NPP flagbearer is over

Accra, Sept. 25, GNA - Mr. Felix Kwasi Owusu-Adjapong, former Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, told newsmen on Tuesday that the search for a flag bearer for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Elections 2008 was over with his entry into the race.

"I have over the last nine months or so brought good news to the owners and major shareholders of the NPP. I have met all the 10 Regional Executives of the Party at their offices one by one.

"In the same vain, I have visited each of the 230 constituencies and also met the officers of the Party at the national level. Having presented facts to them, they have endorsed my intention to contest for the flag bearer ship slot of our great party for Elections 2008," Mr Owusu-Adjapong, who is the Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru Constituency, stated in Accra.

At the official launch of his bid for the NPP flag bearer ship slot, Mr. Owusu-Adjapong explained that after careful study and analysis of the stakes for Elections 2008, "I have come to a conclusion that NPP Presidential Candidate should possess four main qualities."

These are: Be a good party man or woman; Be a good party person who can unite the party and eventually the country; Be a good party person who is even liked by people referred to as floating voters or "marginals" and the other political parties; and a good party person with reasonable qualification and experience to lead the Party and Ghana.

Mr. Owusu-Adjapong said: "I have presented these facts to the owners and major shareholders of the party at the Regional and Constituency levels and they have all endorsed them."

He appealed to NPP delegates to the December 22 Special National Delegates' Congress to choose an aspirant who embodied the best that the party had to offer to lead Ghanaians to economic emancipation. "And that person is Felix Kwasi Owusu-Adjapong. Felix Kwasi Owusu-Adjapong understands the ideals of quality leadership; he understands the ideals of community, the ideals of faith, ideals of hard work, ideals of commitment and ideals of service.

"This is because Felix Kwasi Owusu-Adjapong's life has been defined by these concepts."

He said: "I have taken practical steps to advance the unity of the NPP, especially when the party was at the crossroads. A typical reference was the famous meeting I organised for the party in Elmina and Cape Coast, to enable us to iron the differences among aspirants for the party leadership and those for the presidential candidacy in 1998." He said, he knew what to do to persuade people who were not members of the NPP to pursue what was good for the country and mankind. "This was greatly exhibited when I was leader of Parliament over the years as a result of which our cousins of the Minority referred to Felix Kwasi Owusu-Adjapong as 'Great Leader'"

He said he possessed reasonable academic and professional qualifications coupled with public and private sector experience expected of any person to lead the Party and the country. On his achievements, he said: "From my role whilst in the Minority as the Founder and Coordinator for 'Mission 2000' to my years in government as Cabinet Minister through four years as Majority Leader, I have devoted myself to this Party and have prepared myself well enough to lead the NPP.

"As a leader, I have never and will never sacrifice basic issues that allow us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one family. It is my duty as a Leader to ensure that cliques are not used as a wedge to divide us."

Mr Owusu-Adjapong said the NPP went to Elections 2000 with the euphoria of "Positive Change" and won.

"We went to Elections 2004 when President John Agyekum Kufuor and the party had done so well that his popularity rating was said to be 85% or more, and won....The 'gentle giant' cannot be our candidate for the 2008 elections."

Moreover, the NPP cannot go to Elections 2008 singing hymns like "interest rate is down", "inflation is down", "the cedi has stabilized", "democracy is thriving", "freedom of speech, good governance or rule of law are enhanced".

Mr Owusu-Adjapong explained that with the impressive macro-economic achievements under President Kufuor's administration over the past years, Ghanaians needed a development-oriented leader.

"That is: A Leader who creates things out of nothing; A Leader given five talents will return ten and not the one who returns five or less; A Leader who taken the advantage of President Kufuor's macroeconomic achievements and good governance will take Ghanaians to the next positive step and put money into their pockets."

He said Ghana could be developed only by Ghanaians. All others at best could assist. Therefore steps must be taken to put Ghanaians at the centre of the country's development agenda.

Mr Owusu-Adjapong said there must be concerted efforts to create the new Ghanaian middle-income class.

"To me, we now have in Ghana middle class workers and not middle income persons. I have said over and over again that there is the need for us to amend the Procurement Law so that it can be "Ghanaian friendly". "Be it as it may, I want to assure you that my advisors and I have been looking at other options that should be available for the speedy development of this country.

"This includes policies relating to agriculture, education as a tool for effective and speedy decentralization; public education to change eating habits to promote environmental health and encourage agro-processing."

He therefore urged the delegates to use the December 22 Congress platform to endorse his candidature as the flag bearer of NPP for Elections 2008.