A final year student of the Department of Optometry of the Kwame Nkrumah University f Science and Technology has commended President Agyekum Kufuor for saying that he will be neutral in the election of a flag bearer for the New Patriotic Party (NPP). The student, David Atta-Acheampong who made the commendation told the Daily Graphic in Kumasi that the President’s decision was one of the best as it would definitely be in the interest of the party. Mr. Atta-Acheampong said when he read from the political page of the March 20 edition of the Daily Graphic that the President addressed the first International Delegates’ Conference of the NPP in London, where he made the statement; "I felt that the President's acclaimed maturity was at display. He also referred to another statement by the President that the processes outlined by the party would enable it to select a flag bearer who would be able to unite the party and win the forthcoming elections. He said for the party to have a better future, President Kufuor should stick to his principles and not to allow his sentiments to override him. The student said he would side with the President to step aside and allow those aspirants who were gunning for such an enviable position to do their own thing. He also expressed the view that it would be likely that the candidate the President would support could not emerge the winner and that would bring confusion. He further stressed that as a human institution, it would be difficult for the winner to work in close collaboration with him. Mr. Atta-Acheampong urged the national executives of the party to be very cautious of their pronouncements before, during and after the primaries. He urged them to ensure that the aspirants did not use money and other things to influence the delegates. Rather he said, the aspirants should show what they could do when campaigning. The student expressed optimism that if the delegates did a thorough assessment of the aspirants without allowing monetary considerations to induce them, they would definitely come out with an untainted, upright flag bearer the whole country would accept. He also advocated early elections so that the party could have enough time to strategise and campaign for the winning candidate. Mr. Atta-Acheampong said the party would also have sufficient time to heal the wounds of the vanquished aspirants. Source: Daily Graphic