New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate for the 2012 elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has charged President John Mahama to sit up and address the economic challenges facing the country.

According to him, instead of formulating effective policies and programmes to tackle the ailing economy in order to save Ghanaians from the untold hardships inflicted on them as a result of bad policies, the President was rather engaging in rhetoric.

The Ghanaian economy has taken a nosedive, with falling currency and worsening economic conditions as well as high prices of goods and services.

But President Mahama, during his address at the recently held Odwira festival at Akuapem Akropong in the Eastern Region, said Ghana’s recent challenges were short-term, giving the assurance that the country’s long-term prospects were bright.

Nana Akufo-Addo, in a direct reply to the President, said failing to deal with the short-term problems automatically has adverse effects on the country’s medium and long-term future plans.

The NPP guru, who was addressing teeming party supporters in Kumasi yesterday, therefore urged the President to initiate moves to fix the myriad of problems confronting the country before things get out of hand.

The occasion was when Nana Akufo-Addo, who is seeking a third term bid of the NPP flagbearer position, met with delegates from 11 constituencies in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital.

The meeting, which was held at the famous Abbey’s Park at Ash Town in the Manhyia South constituency, was turned into a rally, as people from all walks of life stormed the venue to listen to the presidential hopeful.

Nana Akufo-Addo expressed disgust at the high level of corruption in President Mahama’s government, stressing that the country was suffering because corruption was not being kept in check by the President.

Without mincing words, he predicted that the NPP would win the 2016 national elections with him (Nana Addo) as the President, adding that corruption would be a thing of the past in his administration.

Nana Akufo-Addo stated categorically that his administration would turn the fortunes of the country around within two years, to save Ghanaians from hardship.

He said Ghana was not that poor, but the citizenry were suffering because of the bad leadership of President Mahama and his NDC administration, who seemed not capable of managing the affairs of the country.

Nana Akufo-Addo stated that he was not into politics to amass wealth as it was being witnessed under the present NDC administration, adding that he was into politics to implement policies to better the lives of the people.

The NPP presidential hopeful therefore gave the assurance that his administration would save the ailing Cedi and better the lives of farmers and the entire Ghanaian populace with better programmes.

He said the current situation whereby poor parents could not sponsor the education of their children, would also be a thing of the past under his administration, saying that Free Education would be introduced by his government.

Nana Akufo-Addo stated that the least the state could do for the ordinary Ghanaian was to make education free, so that the beneficiaries could grow to become prominent people in society.

He laughed off and parried away rumours that he was old and could not run for the presidency, stating that “I am fit to run for the high office of the President in 2016.”

He passionately appealed to the NPP delegates to vote massively for him during the party’s upcoming polls, stating that he was the right person to wrest political power for the NPP in 2016.

Nana Akufo Addo said the mistakes that the NPP did which allowed the NDC to rig the polls would not be repeated in 2016, saying, “We shall be vigilant and we shall win the elections.”

The programme was graced by the host MP, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, aka ‘Napo’, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, aka ‘Wontumi’, the Ashanti Regional NPP chairman, MPs, NPP constituency chairmen, delegates and polling station executives among others.