Deputy Information Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has mounted a strong attack on New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo, suggesting that his speech at the Kumasi Declaration for a peaceful election spells danger for the nation. Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story Tuesday, he indicated that Nana Addo has demonstrated to the nation that he is still a threat to the December elections. Presidential candidates of the various political parties - the NDC, NPP, CPP, PNC, UFP, PPP, GCPP and an independent - gathered at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi to pledge their commitment to electoral peace. The NPP presidential candidate, having pledged to respect the results of the elections, charged the president to go beyond discourse and ensure that people are confident that the security forces will be party color blind, noting that the fear of being targeted for one’s party affiliation makes people anxious. Nana Addo added that recent events have shaken public confidence in the governing National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) commitment to peace. Specifically, he cited a recent attack on NPP supporters at Asutifi South by NDC operatives and the half-hearted investigation into the Yaw Boateng Gyan tape saga, in which the high-ranking NDC member was allegedly plotting electoral violence. Ablakwa contended that Nana Addo chose the wrong platform for these kinds of statements, explaining that the purpose of the conference was for the candidates to demonstrate their commitment to peace. Nana Akfuo-Addo, he claimed, “is living up to his reputation as the most dangerous person in this election” and displayed an inappropriately “belligerent attitude.” He also accused Akufo-Addo of willfully suffering “from selective amnesia,” saying that when it comes to electoral violence and fraud, no party is completely innocent. He believes that that the NPP candidate should have been investigated by the security agencies when he popularized the phrase “all-die-be-die” and refused “to withdraw and apologise for it.” “We are deeply concerned, we have been discussing among ourselves after Nana Addo’s posture this evening, it is clear that there are worrying days ahead, Nana Akufo-Addo clearly remains a threat to a peaceful election on December 7,” Ablakwa reported. “The same tactics he used in the 2008 elections, refusing to concede and sending his lawyers to court on Sunday to attempt to prevent the Electoral Commissioner from declaring results.” Ablakwa added that he feared for the safety of NDC supporters should the NPP win the election. Therefore, he said, his the party would work diligently to secure a one touch victory and avoid a runoff, explaining that it is “only then that we would be safe, because clearly Nana Akufo-Addo is not committed to the peace building”. NPP National Chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey disagreed on the count that Nana Addo chose the wrong platform to air his concerns. He said that in addition to the instances cited by his candidate, NDC functionaries around the country are currently perpetrating similar acts. In light of the situation on the ground, he reported, peace cannot be achieved through mere words. Instead, he said, peace will only be possible if Ghana elects a president with the will to empower the police and other security agencies to execute their work without any interference whatsoever. Addressing Ablakwa’s claim that Nana Addo’s comments had alarmed him, Obetsebi-Lamptey said that the entire forum would not have been necessary if people were not already alarmed. He stressed that the NPP is ready to assist in prosecuting any of its own members who perpetrate any criminal act.