NPP to bring unity, peace and prosperity - Kufuor

Kumasi, Nov 28, GNA - The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is destined to bring unity, peace and prosperity to Ghana, President John Agyekum Kufuor said in Kumasi on Sunday.

Addressing the Ashanti regional rally of the party, he said "God has destined the NPP to make Ghanaians united, peaceful citizens and to see progress in their development".

President Kufuor said his tour of the regions showed that the NPP would win massively during the December polls, adding, "NPP is going to win a very handsome majority this year to become a record majority. It will not be a narrow majority to give way for our opponents to make noise but a big majority".

"Your massive turn out at the Jackson's Park had confirmed that the 'Operation 39 seats' would be achieved in Ashanti. Most of the seats in the Northern, Brong-Ahafo, Eastern, Central, Upper East, Upper West regions and about 50 per cent of the seats from the Volta Region will fall to the NPP".

President Kufuor said his assertion was due to what the Government had done since 2001 and what it would continue to do when its mandate was renewed.

"The first four years was a foundation laying period and the next four years marking Positive Change Chapter Two will see actual unity, peace and progress in development".

He deplored the campaign based on ethnic sentiments in the Central region that the December polls was not between the NPP and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) but between Asantes and Fantis and said this would not augur well for the country's socio-economic development.

President Kufuor, however, cautioned the supporters of the Party not to be complacent with the massive support throughout the country but to work hard for the Party to retain power, adding, "Ours is to serve the country and success would be ours".

Mr Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, NPP National Campaign Manager, said the December poll was important because it was about Ghana's future.

The choice, he said, was between two people and asked the electorate to go in for the one with the right character and experience to lead the country into the future.

"We have been fortunate to see President Kufuor perform for four years. We saw Professor Mills performed also for four years. Now we have all seen the difference," he said.

He noted that President Kufuor had proved to be caring, respectful, God-fearing, competent, and a good leader and called on the electorate to vote massively to return the NPP to power.

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey urged the electorate in the Ashanti region to give the party nothing less than 90 per cent of the popular votes in the elections.

Dr Kofi Dsane-Selby, Ghana's Ambassador in Italy, told opponents of the Kufuor administration to be humble enough to admit that Ghana's economy was now in better shape than the NPP inherited.

He said it was ironic that the main opposition political party, the National Democratic Congress, in the administration under its founder and leader, Mr Jerry John Rawlings, which supervised the collapse of most local industries was now talking about unemployment. President Kufuor introduced some of the parliamentary candidates of the party to the crowd.