Latest plot against Akufo-Addo

The Statesman newspaper says it has uncovered a bizarre but purportedly carefully thought-through opposition scheme against the Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party and some key members of his campaign team.

According to the paper, the scheme is similar to the Kobby Acheampong 'detailed report' on the nearly $4m use of State funds which he falsely said had been spent on improving or renovating the President's residence. Earlier reports, including one about Nana Akufo-Addo being arrested at JFK Airport for cocaine trafficking and another which insisted he was a drug addict also failed to fly.

This time, according to information gathered by the paper, elaborately manufactured security reports of corruption, immorality, infidelity and dealing in drugs will be the weapons of choice. The aim is to publicise these fabricated documents as authentic National Security reports on the NPP Presidential Candidate and certain key members of his campaign, notably some of the aspirants who are now part of his campaign.

And, unlike previous attempts which could be easily verified, the architects of this strategy ire banking on the knowledge that security reports are confidential, protected by the Official Secrets Act. Thus, even though the security agencies may deny the existence of such reports, it may not be as convincingly dealt with as taking cameramen to the President's residence to take shots of, among other things, the dog of the President's grand son.

The paper said other intelligence work it undertook revealed that the opposition forces have concluded that the two things they cannot fight the NPP on in the upcoming election are the NPP's determination to campaign on its record in governance given the challenges it faced when it assumed office in 2001 compared to the NDC's achievements when in office.

The other asset the NPP has are the leadership qualities of its Presidential Candidate. Nana Akufo-Addo's 30 years of active political engagement, his international recognition, popularity, vision and eloquence, among others, places him a cut above the other candidates.

To counter this, the opposition forces have devised a comprehensive strategy to launch pre-emptive strikes of indiscriminate carpet bombing of the virtues of the candidate and those around him. This will be carried out by some elements of the opposition resorting to the weaving of an elaborate fabric of falsehood for the singular objective of assassinating the character of Nana Akufo-Addo.

"The challenge, as is becoming increasingly obvious, is that Akufo-Addo is not a stranger to the electorate, being in the spotlight for at least the past 30 years. Therefore, the task of manufacturing weapons of mud slinging to stain him have been met with public rejection, only exposing the forces behind such campaign tactics as having little or nothing positive to offer," the paper said.

Speaking to The Statesman, some members of the NPP campaign team who wished to remain anonymous described the latest development as "signs of desperation from a party that has clearly lost touch with the electorate."