The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has asked the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to focus on relevant matters such as fixing the economy and delivering on their promise to deliver a better Ghana rather than engaging in diversionary tactics and propaganda because it will not pay school fees or reduce the cost of living or create jobs. The admonition was contained in a statement issued by the NPP in reaction to a press conference by the NDC Thursday calling on NPP flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to withdraw and apologise for comments many have described as divisive and incendiary. Nana Addo has called on NPP followers to stand up to any acts of intimidation by the NDC and show they are not cowards after all, urging them also to defend the party even at the peril of their lives saying “all die be die.” The NDC has since condemned the comments. But the NPP now says the ruling party must focus on doing what is important. “Let President Mills and his party be, for once, serious about doing a serious job to bring economic relief to Ghanaians. They have lost touch with the concerns of ordinary Ghanaians and diversion will not bring them back into touch.” Below is the statement by the NPP signed by Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, General Secretary. NDC SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS Earlier today, the National Democratic Congress held a press conference, with the title 'Akufo-Addo's Shocking Revelations', to basically say nothing. The event was summed up by the response that Aseidu Nketia, the General Secretary, gave to a reporter who asked for evidence to support the lie that the "political life" of the flagbearer of the NPP "has been characterized by violence all along." Mr Nketia's answer was that it was up to the NPP flagbearer to prove that he was not a violent man! To the ruling party, which has mastered the art of diversion, the press conference was just another opportunity to attempt to divert the attention of Ghanaians from the economic hardships that the Mills-Mahama administration has visited on Ghanaians. Prices of every good and service are shooting up. The cedi is falling. Jobs are being lost daily. The President has himself admitted that "lawlessness is on the increase." To all these mounting national problems the NDC is offering no answers beyond cutting sods without any credible programmes of implementation. The NDC is advised to begin to appreciate that the dream of a better Ghana cannot be built with the brick and mortar of propaganda and lies. It is clear to the NPP that the ruling party has given up on winning the battle to deliver on their promise of a better Ghana so they seem to be concentrating on how to retain power with or without the blessing of the majority of the Ghanaian people. It is this agenda that the NPP is saying that we would not sit by and let the electoral wishes of the Ghanaian people to be intimidated from manifesting. Our flagbearer's firm and uncompromising position on ensuring a clean contest in 2012 is based on the extra-electoral tactics employed by the NDC in Akwatia, Chereponi and Atiwa and the shocking inaction of the security personnel in the face of such blatant acts of intimidation, violence and electoral malpractices. Let them not think that we would give them a free hand at repeating these unhealthy practices in 2012. NPP will be no rollover in 2012. We are calling on all our activists and supporters to stand firm and defend their democratic rights. Should we apologise for making this call to protect the Fourth Republican Constitution? Certainly not! It is not for the NDC to define to Ghanaians who Nana Akufo-Addo is. For over 35 years that Nana Akufo-Addo has been at the forefront of fighting the Ghanaian cause - for political freedom, human rights, democracy, opportunities and prosperity - Nana Akufo-Addo never once used any instrument of violence as his weapon. True to the character of the founders of our political tradition, Nana Akufo- Addo has used his courage, wisdom, words and legitimate persuasion to help bring about the kind of democratic environment that we are all enjoying today, which the NPP is committed to protecting and enhancing. Nana Akufo-Addo's record speaks for itself. His contribution to both national and international peace and freedom can never be wished away by the programmed amplifiers of false propaganda. It is a hopeless endeavour destined to fail. Nana Akufo-Addo did not win the respect of the international community as Ghana's Foreign Minister by sitting at home and minding his own business while some nations in our region were burning. We all recall CNN reports of him walking bravely to the Executive Mansion of Monrovia as shells were pounding to persuade President Charles Taylor to leave Liberia for the sake of that country. Ghanaians are witnesses to the current stalemate in la Cote d'Ivoire, where an incumbent party is refusing to stand down after losing an election by more than 8%, or over 400,000 votes. Ghanaians have not forgotten how in 2008, Nana Akufo-Addo responded to the Electoral Commission's decision to declare Prof JEA Mills the President-elect. On that same day, Nana Akufo-Addo chose to calm down his millions of supporters across the country and went ahead to congratulate President-elect Mills. That election was won by the smallest margin in Africa's electoral history: 0.46%. It took a principled patriotic leader, a believer in democracy like Nana Akufo-Addo to not challenge the results in spite of clear allegations of electoral malpractices in certain parts of the country. Is this the kind of record that can be suppressed by NDC trademark propaganda? Nana Akufo-Addo's commitment to a peaceful and prosperous multiethnic Ghana is not in doubt. The NPP is proud to be the largest national movement in Ghana today and our commitment to create a society of opportunities in every corner of Ghana is one that others are happy to learn from. Nana Akufo-Addo knows that the peace, security and future of Ghana's democracy are more important than his or his party's ambition. His message to the ruling party is not to take the NPP for granted. We are ready, prepared and capable to resist any attempt by any person or group to intimidate this country away from a free, fair and transparent general elections in 2012. It is in pursuit of this determination that we are calling for the resumption of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) to begin a structured dialogue in the process of ensuring clean polls in 2012. Nana Akufo-Addo has nothing to apologise for in sending a clear message to the ruling party that the NPP would not allow the democratic will of the majority of Ghanaians to be abused by intimidation, violence or electoral fraud in 2012. The NPP is proud to be led by a man who would not stand by and allow Ghanaians to be cheated. The NPP will continue to express, through both our words and deeds, that we are deeply committed to the democratic process. The NDC should stop the diversionary tactics and focus on doing what is important. They should fix the economy and deliver on their promise to deliver a better Ghana. Propaganda will not pay school fees; it will not reduce the cost of living or create jobs. Let President Mills and his party be, for once, serious about doing a serious job to bring economic relief to Ghanaians. They have lost touch with the concerns of ordinary Ghanaians and diversion will not bring them back into touch. Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie (General Secretary)