Rawlings Orders: Stop Akufo-Addo!

He's NDC's most feared candidate

Intelligence work undertaken by The Statesman has discovered that Jerry John Rawlings and his National Democratic Congress see Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the greatest threat to John Evans Atta Mills' chances of winning the presidency for the opposition party.The Ridge office of the NDC founder, Mr Rawlings, the Kuku Hill office of the leader, Prof Mills, and the Kokomlemle office of the party are all united in seeing the former Foreign Minister as the man they would rather not face in the 2008 elections.

NDC intelligence surveys put Akufo-Addo as the clear front runner, with Aliu Mahama, Alan Kyerematen and Dan Botwe among the top four candidates for the governing party's December 22 national congress. But Mr Rawlings feels their candidate, Prof Mills can "easily handle” all the others. But he dreads an Akufo-Ado challenge.The former President, according to our inner-circle sources in the NDC, have ordered his hatchet men to do all that is possible to stop Akufo-Addo's hand from being raised as flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party in 17 days time.

In the 'Stop Akufo-Addo' conspiracy, the NDC has unlikely bedfellows in the others Nana is competing against for the flagbearership. By the natural imperatives of competition, being the front-runner, Nana Akufo-Addo has the uncomfortable burden of being a common target for both legitimate and underhand campaign tactics.

"He's fighting strong forces both in the physical and spiritual realm in both within his party and outside," said a retired judge and pastor who incidentally visited The Statesman offices yesterday and expressed similar concerns about the plots to derail the Abuakwa South MP"s ambitions. Akufo-Addo is widely considered as the most formidable, all-round leader to take over after President Kufuor’s sterling performance. Mr Rawlings’ determination to stop Akufo-Addo, our sources say, has been toughened by the running documentary on Akufo-Addo’s towering advantage as a highly regarded international statesman. "Mr Rawlings watched the film and got very angry. He fears that puts Nana way ahead of Prof," a source at the Rawlings household said.

Part of the plan, from those seeking to stop Nana, is to use the media, social commentators and serial callers to embark on an intensive smear campaign against Nana. The NDC calculates that the most effective weapon against the NPP is a corruption tag. But, they are not so sure about this strategy because of Nana’s image and character as an incorruptible politician.Nana’s NDC detractors calculate that the smear campaign is bound to be futile after December 22, because once he’s elected as the presidential candidate he can then rely on the full force of the NPP to deflate any such weightless negative propaganda.

"Now, is the time to be inventive and get away with it when there’s division in the camp," an NDC source reasoned.Nana Akufo-Addo has been a thorn in the political flesh of Mr Rawlings since the Third Republic. He was the complainant lawyer in some of the cases before two of the three judges which led to their abduction and killing at the Bundase Barracks on June 30, 1982. Shortly after the AFRC handed over power to Hilla Limann’s PNP, Nana Akufo-Addo got the unlawful conviction of businessman Lloyd Shackleford overturned and the prisoner released. Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addo in that human rights case disregarded the transitional provisions in the Third Republican Constitution.

Another landmark case handled by Akufo-Addo was that of J C Arkosah of Tip Toe fame before Justice K A Agyapong, which involved the release of assets illegally confiscated under the AFRC. Nana Akufo-Addo had gone to London for a short visit on the night of June 30. A few days later, Ebo Tawiah, a PNDC official sent a clear warning to Akufo-Addo during a public function. Nana ended up staying in exile until October 1984, returning to pursue other human rights cases in the courts. Victor Smith, special aide to the former President refused to comment on the story when contacted.