Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, on Tuesday said education is the quickest way to lift people from poverty.  

The Vice President said developed countries took the education of their citizens seriously during a rally at Adaklu Helekpe as part of his campaign tour of the Adaklu constituency in the Volta region.    

He said the NPP government therefore introduced the free Senior High School to help alleviate poverty in the country.   

Dr Bawumia, who is also the Vice President said 5.7 million students had so far benefitted from the programme since its inception in 2017 adding “It has also increased the enrollment of girls in Senior High Schools and if voted into power he would work to move the country from “import mentality to production mentality.”  

The Vice President said one of his top priorities was to establish agricultural mechanization centres in all the districts to help change the country from food importers to exporters.  

He said his government would equip the youth with digital skills to enable them to be abreast with the changing digital world and create job opportunities for them, disclosing that under his government people with disability would access tertiary education free of charge.    

Dr. Bawumia said to help address the mistake of sidelining chiefs in the governance of the country, he would redefine section 63 of the Chieftaincy Act to give more powers to chiefs to also help reduce the pressure on the courts.  

He stated that “my government would strictly resist the imposition of LGBTQ+ on the country, damn the consequences.   

“LGBTQ+ is not only a taboo for all religions but also our culture as Ghanaians,” he said.  

He said he was overwhelmed by the reception accorded him in the region believed to be the “traditional world bank” of the National Democratic Congress and hoped the reception would be translated into votes for the NPP to continue their development agenda for the country.   

Bright Nyatsikor, who was introduced to the people by Dr. Bawumia as the Parliamentary Candidate of the Party in the constituency said it was time the youth in the constituency took their destiny into their own hands by voting for him to represent their interests both within and outside parliament.   

“We have been voting since 1992, but our situation remained the same so it is now time, we take the bull by the horns and change the dynamics by voting for one of us, who will represent our interest,” he noted.  

Ms Juliana Kpedekpo, the immediate past Adaklu District Chief Executive and now the Deputy Director General of Social Security and National Insurance Trust said Adaklu had its fair share of development projects under the NPP government and asked the people to reward the party by voting massively for it.   

Togbega Gbogbi Atsa V, President of the Adaklu Traditional Council in a speech delivered on his behalf praised the government for the free Senior High School initiative.   

He appealed for the upgrading of the Adaklu Tsriefe-Adaklu Waya-Adaklu Torda road, which he said was in a deplorable state.   

Dr. Bawumia, responding to the appeal by Togbega Gbogbi said he was touring the country not only to canvass for votes but also to listen to the problems of the people to find innovative ways to address them.