The Eastern Regional branch of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) has called on Africans to close their ranks and work towards the removal of neo-colonialism and imperialism from the African continent, as the continent marks the African Union (AU) Day. The party called on the AU to give hope to Africans by fighting to ensure an end to all the senseless wars, electoral fraud and other conflicts on the continent. This was contained in a press release issued by the party at Koforidua on Thursday, May 24, 2007 and signed by the Regional Chairman, Nana Owusu Sekyere, and the Regional Secretary, Kwabena Apea, to commemorate the celebration of the AU Day. The release observed that the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which is now the AU, to pursue policies towards the total liberation of Africa from foreign rule made Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, to create enemies for himself and the CPP in America and Western Europe. The party said the Western European powers and America saw the ideas of Dr. Nkrumah as a threat to their domination over Africa and, therefore, overthrew Dr Nkrumah and the CPP government from power". The release observed that "today, following the exit of the founding fathers of the OAU, now AU, Africa is no more truly independent, since Africa is now at the berk and call of the western powers and America." Source: The Ghanaian Times