Although the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had an easy time in selecting Prof. John Evans Atta Mills as its candidate for the 2008 presidential election, Mr. Boakye Agyarko, an NPP presidential hopeful says the party will regret electing him because the 62-year-old Prof. would not be able to unseat the ruling party.

According to him, Prof. Mills as a candidate of the main opposition party poses no threat at all to the NPP, especially if he (Agyarko) is nominated to become the flagbearer.

He believes the tax ‘professor, whose electoral record has been blotted by two previous presidential election defeats, is not a fearful challenger contrary to a statement by the campaign group of Nana Akufo-Addo - an aspirant of the NPP flagbearership race.

Mr. Mustapha Abdul-Humid, the spokesperson of the out-going Foreign Affairs Minister's campaign team was quoted to have said in Sunyani that the opposition NDC looks fearsome and that Nana Akufo-Addo is the suitable candidate to crush its presidential candidate, Prof. Atta Mills.

Speaking in an interview with Nkosuo Radio in Kumasi , Mr. Agyarko stated that it would only be nothing less than 'daydreaming' by the main opposition party to think of annexing political power in the 2008 presidential elections.

According to him, the current political climate, which he noted is better than the (P)NDC period from the 1980s to 2000, presents an excellent environment and platform for the NPP to stay onto power, thereby requesting the NDC to wait for their turn in the next 50 years or so.

The NPP presidential aspirant was worried about reasonable attempts by the NDC founder and leader, Ex-President Rawlings, to portray the NPP as a government perpetrating an act of persecution, harassment, and intimidation against political opponents as well as creating a repressive environment to curtail freedom of expression in Ghana.

To him, it clearly depicts lack of understanding of those words and their usage by the former President, hence, his frequent usage of harassment and persecution.

Mr. Boakye Agyarko had earlier called for the rewarding of the NPP foot soldiers who have been toiling and fighting for the party's election victories.

He told listeners of the station that his party's regulation prescribes some forms of monetary payments for secretaries and organizers of the NPP, adding that if anyone is sacrificing his or her time, energy and life for the party's victory in elections, that person ought to be treated fairly.


Source: The Chronicle