An aide to the President, Nii Lantey-Vanderpuije, has said that due to the sound economic and developmental feat President John Evans Atta Mills has to his credit, even Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and New Patriotic Party (NPP) officials will vote for him in 2012. “I’ve seen people who have voted for other people before …because in voting, God will convince you to vote for another person,” he stated. According to Mr Lantey-Vanderpuije, Mills as a president has achieved an enviable performance rate which most international economic analysts, Ghanaians and even some politicians from opposition parties have extolled. Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme Monday, Mr Vanderpuije enumerated the achievements of the Mills government including: increasing the capitation grant, expanding the school feeding programme, free uniforms and books, infrastructural development in schools, eliminating the shift system and schools under trees among many others. He was reacting to reports that a website for former first lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings has been outdoored, indicating her interest to contest the incumbent President Mills for his seat. Nii Lantey emphasised that the President is not scared of anyone who wants to contest him because he [President Mills] is confident that Ghanaians appreciate his work so far. “We have built a very viable economy, we are now building on the social infrastructure and as he [President Mills] has said this 2011, Ghanaians are going to see unprecedented level of social infrastructural development for this country…” “No government, he added, has achieved this level of development in two years [except Kwame Nkrumah].” The President’s aide also assured all interested competitors that it will be a waste of time and resources for any member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to attempt contesting Mills because “he [Mills] will continue to be the President of this country from 2012 to 2016 no matter what”. Asked whether President Mills might change his mind about contesting his position again, Nii Lantey said “President Mills is not one of those fickle-minded people who will take this position today and [change their minds] tomorrow…” Mr Arthur Kennedy, a member of the New Patriotic Party and a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, who was a co-panelist on the programme wondered why Nii Lantey was touting Mills’ two-years of governance as the best so far when the President himself has indicated that “action is going to start in 2011” and when President Mills’ mentor ex-President Jerry John Rawlings has described the government as incompetent. On the issue on Nana Konadu’s interest in challenging the President at the next congress, Mr Kennedy said the NDC as a party has been unfair in their treatment of the first lady in relation to her political ambition, especially when President Mills has made his intentions known on running for the flagbearership again. He likened Nana Konadu and her tight lips on the issue to the situation of “a woman who is in love and is trying to pretend that she is not in love”. Arthur K however cautioned the NDC not to misconstrue former president Rawlings’ statement about his family not being interested in presidency because such a comment seems to echo a similar past occurrence. Listen to the attached audio for more Story by Dorcas Efe Mensah/myjoyonline.com/Ghana