Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor, one of the presidential aspirants of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Monday won the hearts of delegates in seven constituencies in the Western Region, when they openly pledged to crown him, during the party congress as flagbearer for a job well done during his tenure of office as both Minister for Defence and the Interior. The decision of the delegates, to openly pledge their support for the aspirant, came after Dr. Addo Kufuor laid bare his achievements as Defence Minister, and the role he played, which saw the sudden turn around of a number of projects he embarked upon for the country, particularly the Ghana Armed Forces, without the support of the national budget. The delegates, who rose up one-by-one of their own volition during question time, praised the aspirant for the number of successes he had chalked, which saw him voted as best Minister three consecutive times. The recent pronouncement by the Vetting Committee, according to the delegates, to the effect that Addo Kufuor was the aspirant whose material presented to the Committee was without any blemish, was a living testimony of the candidate's prowess. The delegates believed that with the proven track record of Dr. Addo Kufuor, none of the aspirant ministers could match him in terms of a job well executed, transparency and visionary leadership. Dr. Addo Kufuor also has no defect in the eyes of the society, which the opposition could use against him, if he was elected as flagbearer, as compared to some other aspirants. According to the delegates he (Addo Kufuor) voluntarily called on the Auditor General and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to audit his tenure of office. One of the delegates told Addo Kufuor in the face, “you have lived up to expectation as a former minister without any defect, your humble face tells all that you can still deliver as president, and I can assure you we will crown you come 22nd December.” The seven constituencies, which made the open declarations, were the Evalue-Gwira, Elembele, Ahanta West, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Takoradi, Sekondi and Essikado-Ketan constituencies. Speaking to the delegates, Dr. Addo Kufuor asked them to hand the destiny of the country into his hands, to ensure transparency and accountability, especially at the time the country had found oil to the benefit of every individual Ghanaian. “We will need a leader, who will ensure transparency, especially this time that we have oil found on our soil here and that leader is Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor. “This is because, I have done it before and I assure you that I will do it again.” Addo Kufuor, who was looking humble, also addressed the issue of his blood relation with the sitting president, Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor, to the admiration of the delegates who subsequently shouted “you have no problem.” On his part, Lawyer Owusu Afriyie, popularly known as ‘Sir John,’ congratulated the party for the successful manner they selected the delegates, for the December Congress without any problems. He, therefore, asked the delegates to settle on the candidature of Addo Kufuor, for open transparency and accountability, in the administration of our mother country. Sir John also appealed to them not to vote for any aspirant, who has the track record of destabilizing our country. “I bring you Addo Kufuor, the humble-looking man, for you to settle on him to rule our country peacefully,” he said. Source: The Chronicle