Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the just-ended general elections, has reiterated his call on President John Evans Atta Mills to prevail on National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters to desist from attacking and persecuting NPP members. The unwarranted attacks, Nana Addo observed, if not checked, could elicit a counter-defence, which could be precarious to the peace and stability of the country. Addressing residents of Kumasi yesterday during his ‘thank you’ tour of the Ashanti region, Nana Addo said the constant beating and harassment of NPP supporters was rife across the country, which he stressed must be stopped. According to him, about half of the Ghanaian populace voted for the NPP for which reason the NDC should be careful of launching unsolicited attacks on their perceived opponents. He indicated that supporters of both the NDC and NPP are all Ghanaians who have the right to belong to any political party of their choice as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution. According to Nana Addo, little was heard of these unfortunate developments when the NPP won political power in the 2000 and 2004 general elections respectively and therefore called on the leadership of the NDC to call its supporters to order. The NPP leader was accorded a rousing welcome amid drumming and dancing when he stormed the Garden City on Sunday to thank the people for their support during the elections. Even at commercial centres where Nana Addo was visibly absent, hundreds of party supporters particularly market women clad in party colours were seen jubilating in the hope that the NPP would return to power in 2012. Nana Addo, who got 4,480,446 of the valid votes cast in the presidential run-off, had 1,393,496 of the votes coming from the Ashanti region. He was met on arrival at Ejisu, where he led a procession through Tech Junction to Amakom and proceeded to the studios of Ashh 101.1 FM, a local radio station in Kumasi where he addressed listeners. Accompanied by the NPP National Chairman, Peter Mac Manu, campaign chairman, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Yaw Osafo Maafo, and a number of party gurus, Nana Addo passed through the principal streets and the central business district to express his heartfelt appreciation to the residents. He made stopovers at some places including the Central Market and Adum, the commercial centre of the Ashanti regional capital, to receive cheers from the enthusiastic crowd that had lined up the streets itching to shake hands with him. Addressing the people, the NPP flagbearer called for unity, and support among the rank and file of the party to sustain the strength of the NPP for the 2012 general elections. According to him, it was prudent for the NPP as a party to examine what went wrong so as to put its house in order, but warned against any move to blame the outcome of the elections on any member of the party. In his opinion, such development had the potential of jeopardising the peace and unity in the party, calling on the residents to rally behind the NPP. “Any finger-pointing and accusation could mar the unity among us and this must be protected,” he warned. Source: Daily Guide