Another NPP big wig Stephen Ntim has announced his bid for the chairmanship position of the party, ahead of what will be a competitive National election in December. The former second vice chairman of the party had his chairmanship ambition jolted after he was beaten by Stephen Mac Manu in 2005 in a closely fought election. Mr Ntim told Joy News his interest for the party has soared, notwithstanding the party’s presence in opposition. He has a big hurdle to overcome in Jake Obetsebi Lamptey who has also announced his intention to vie for the chairmanship position. But the soft spoken prospective chairman played down the threat posed by the former chief of staff, and minister of Information and Tourism. He believes his ‘chemistry’ with the grass root supporters puts him a notch higher than his competitors. “I don’t think its going to be very keen because I am very firm on the ground. I have been focusing on this position for a very long time and the grass root people know me. They know my contribution to the party and are going to reward me for the hard work that I have put in.” He dismissed assertions that ex-president Kufuor supported his bid in the earlier campaign, saying the president only “favoured his candidature” due to his (president) yearning for “geographical balance” in the new crop of executives. He attributed his defeat to malignant comments made against the president at the time which took a cascading effect on him. Now in opposition, Mr Ntim said the party is in crisis and he his ready to bring it back into power. Play the attached audio for excerpts of the interview with Mr Ntim Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana