Some Nigerians have decided to make
Ghana’s politics their business in this year’s elections. We have had
actor Hanks Anuku campaigning for the NPP, and Nigerian businessman,
Dele Momodu doing the PR works for NDC and the latest introduction is
popular Nollywood actor, Nkem Owoh, popularly known in the showbiz world
as Osuofia.
Well, Osuofia has finally disclosed why he is in
Ghana and who invited him among others. In an interview with Joy News,
he disclosed that he is in Ghana on the invitation by Prez Mahama
through his good friend, Dele Momodu.
On why he is in Ghana, he
said, “I’m in Ghana on the invitation of Prez Dramani Mahama through my
good friend, Chief Dele Momodu.”
He went on to say,
“I’m
appreciating the relationship that’s existing between me and President
Mahama. I was in Ghana before, but when I came back now, I was telling
my friend that he hasn’t brought me to this part of Ghana and he said,
it’s the same place just that the development of Ghana by Prez Mahama is
just commendable. There is a transformation gradually on a very
positive note in Ghana and this makes me salute the President the more. I
think he’s doing a lot of work in Ghana.”
The Trade and Industry Minister has taken a swipe at the biggest opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) by describing their actions and utterances as akin to that of their forebears, the United Party (UP).According to Dr. Ekow Spio Garbrah, the NPP is attacking President Mahama's unparalleled achievements as far as infrastructural development is concerned because that is the same thing they did to the Nation's first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.". . we know their traits and they are doing all they can to destroy President Mahama and his achievements because it is these same people who in 1966, together with the American CIA overthrew Kwame Nkrumah's government and destroyed over 300 industries he set up."Their sole aim was to tell the people of Ghana that Nkrumah had done nothing. And I tell you honestly that the NPP has the attributes of the UP tradition. They have only metamorphosed in name and not character," he told Kwame Nkrumah Tikesie on OKAY FM.Spio Garbrah further traced the various transformations in name of the political tradition till the present one, NPP, and called on all Ghanaians to disregard all the negative and baseless assertions being made against the person and administration of President Mahama. "They began by calling themselves the United Party (UP), then Progress Party (PP), later the Popular Front Party (PFP) and now the New Patriotic Party (NPP) so they have always changed in name but their character and members remain," he claimed.Dr. Ekow Spio Garbrah made this statement on the back of a promise by the Presidential Candidate of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo to build one factory in each district and also one dam in a village across the length and breadth of Ghana, should he be voted into power as President.". . we would have been far ahead by this time, we assembled many things including radio sets, refrigerators, we had the Nsawan Cannery where we canned fruits and vegetables. We had a glass factory and a sugar factory . . . all these were run down by the UP tradition, now NPP, so we must be wary when we hear them talk about 'one district, one factory' because it is deceitful."To him, the only hope to this country at this moment is President John Dramani Mahama because he is leading the way to revamp all the factories that were destroyed. " . . he is the one who has been able to put life in the Komenda and Asutwari Sugar Factories after the forefathers of the NPP ruined them over forty years ago," he said.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Running Mate to Nana Akufo-Addo, has debunked the claim made by Vice-President Amissah-Arthur that restoring the Teacher and Nursing Training Allowances will collapse the economy and explained that what is destroying the Ghanaian economy is the Incompetence, Mismanagement and Corruption of the NDC government. Dr. Bawumia also noted the clear confusion between President Mahama and his Vice-President and the several inconsistencies in the government’s stance over the Teacher and Nursing Training Allowances. Speaking at the Nalerigu Nurses Training College, Dr. Bawumia expressed shock at the constant contradictions of government officials on the allowances, saying “in government, we will expose the incompetence of this NDC administration. There is nowhere where they have demonstrated as much incompetence as in the area of the Teacher and Nursing Training Allowances. They have demonstrated monumental incompetence.”“Today, you do not really know what the policy of the NDC is as far as the issue of Training Allowances is concerned. First, they said they have cancelled the allowances, and as the election was getting close, they said they are going to restore the allowances. And there is now a clear conflict between the President and Vice-President over their policy on Nursing Training Allowances”, he pointed out. Responding to the claim made by the Vice-President on the same campus barely a week ago, Dr. Bawumia noted that the comment by the current Head of the Economic Management Team suggests that handlers of the economy still do not understand how this economy works and how to handle it. “So when the Vice-President came here and said that the allowances will destroy this economy, it simply means they do not understand the economy. What is destroying the economy is mismanagement, incompetence and corruption; that is what is destroying this economy”, he said. Free Lesson to Amissah-Arthur and Government Providing what he termed as a free lesson for the handlers of the economy, Dr. Bawumia explained that Ghana’s current economic challenges, which had led to the cuts in among others the allowances, were down to the mismanagement and unbridled borrowing which had seen a skyrocketing of Ghana’s interest payments. “Let me give the NDC and the Vice-President a free lesson in economic management. The interest payments under the NPP before we left office was less than 700million Ghana cedis, under the NDC, in just 8 years, it has jumped to 10.5 billion Ghana cedis.
The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is calling on all Ghanaians to vote for their future on December 7, stressing that the poverty and hunger that have engulfed the country under President Mahama are no respecter of tribe or ethnicity.According to him, the impact of the mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy is being felt by every Ghanaian in the form of rising costs of living, high utility tariffs, record levels of unemployment, fuel price hikes, a weak currency, dwindling economic growth, low real wages, high interest rates, amongst others.In spite of these, and with some 27 days to the holding of this year’s elections, Nana Akufo-Addo explained that opponents of the NPP are going about the country preaching the politics of ethnicity and division, all in the name of scoring cheap political points and in the bid to win this year’s elections.Addressing residents of Dadiesoaba, in the Asutifi South constituency of the Brong Ahafo Region, on Thursday, November 10, 2016, at the commencement of his 4-day tour of the region, the NPP flagbearer noted that “for election purposes, some will come amongst you and say that the NPP does not like you, and when the NPP comes into office, we are going to drive you away from this land. All these are lies, with no iota of truth.”Nana Akufo-Addo stated that “the hunger that is upon the land, under the leadership of President John Mahama, is no respecter of tribe, neither does it discriminate against any ethnic group. Will hunger bypass you all because you are a Kusasi, Dagarti or Northerner? No! It is affecting all of us.”To this end, Nana Akufo-Addo urged residents, which include a large section of settlers of northern extraction, not to entertain the politics of division, urging all ethnic groups living in Dadiesoaba to live in unity, and, with one accord, push out the non-performing Mahama government on December 7.He explained that with a good government at the helm of affairs in the country, coupled with the implementation of sound policies, Ghana will be returned onto the path of progress and prosperity. An Akufo-Addo, ‘God-willing’ from January 2017, the NPP flagbearer assured, will “revive the collapsed National Health Insurance Scheme, ensure the effective implementation of the Free SHS policy, and reallocate Ghana’s capital budget to ensure that every constituency receives the equivalent of $1 million a year to tackle issues relating to infrastructural development.”On his ‘1-District-1-Factory policy’, Nana Akufo-Addo committed himself to the establishment of a ginger processing facility for residents of Dadiesoaba, whose mainstay is the cultivation of ginger, as well as cocoa.“This processing facility will create jobs for the youth in Dadiesoaba, as well as put money in your pockets. These policies I am telling you about are not vote buying policies. I won’t come before the Ghanaian people and say things I know I cannot fulfil. I will never lie to Ghanaians. All these policies I have espoused are ones which have been well thought through. It can be done, that is why I am saying this to you, and asking you for your support,” the NPP flagbearer said.He continued, “Ghanaians have become miserable under President John Mahama. We live on a rich land, and yet we are hungry. If God wills it, my government is coming into office to change all of this and return the country onto the path of progress and prosperity.”
The President is going all over the world talking about Ghana, talking about peace and talking about democracy. And in his cabinet, around the cabinet table at which he is presiding, are people who instigate violence – purveyors of violence, sitting around his cabinet table. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t have the strength of character to reprimand them, and tell them to stop what they are doing. He is simply looking on unconcerned. Does this mean he endorses this kind of conduct?”These were the words of the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, whilst campaigning in Hwidiem, in the Asutifi South constituency of the Brong Ahafo Region, on Thursday, November 10, 2016.Nana Akufo-Addo made these comments on the back of consistent attacks against NPP members in Asutifi South being perpetrated by Hon. Collins Dauda, MP for the constituency and Minister for Local Government, and, also, on the back of the recent assault of NPP members in Odododiodioo led by MP for the constituency and Minister for Youth and Sports, Nii Lante Vanderpuye.Nana Akufo-Addo noted that this kind of leadership, being displayed by President Mahama, is not the kind needed to move Ghana forward and return her on the path of progress and prosperity. “No one should see himself or herself above the law. We don’t want any trouble in Ghana. Those who think that violence, through the use of guns and machetes, is the only path to which they can succeed should have a good rethink, because it will not succeed, he added.”With residents of Hwidiem and surrounding towns living in fear as a result of atrocities and acts of intimidation being meted out to them by Hon. Collins Dauda, the NPP flagbearer condemned these acts, explaining that they have no place in a democracy.Nana Akufo-Addo wondered what kind of man would resort to the use of violence against a woman in a contest.“You (Collins Dauda) are contesting a woman, and you’re having to employ guns, harmful weapons and the use of macho men in order to win? It is a shame and a disgrace. What kind of a man are you then? You are employing all of these shameful tactics, not against a fellow man, but, against a woman. This is a disgrace. When such things happen, it means you have already lost,” he said.Nana Akufo-Addo was confident that, regardless of these “shameful” tactics being employed by Hon. Collins Dauda, residents of Hwidiem and Asutifi South will vote out the NDC, in both presidential and parliamentary elections.The NPP flagbearer noted that “the people of Asutifi South will not allow themselves to be cowed by violence, nor will they allow violent people to superintend over them. No one can be kept away from voting. Everybody is going to have the chance to cast their vote in this election.Nana Akufo-Addo urged the electorate not to be complacent, in the belief that the NPP has already won the election. “We don’t want that. Until the ballots are cast and counted, we should not be complacent. If you want change, you have to go and vote for the change,” he concluded.
