After two weeks of consultation, Francis Addai-Nimoh, one of the presidential hopefuls in the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has finally decided to contest Nana Akufo-Addo and two others in the upcoming National Delegates’ Congress on October 18.
Mr. Addai-Nimoh in a statement issued on Monday said he was “deeply moved by the trust that has been placed in him” and thanked the delegates of the special electoral college of the NPP for shortlisting him as one of the five persons to contest for the flagbearer position of the party.
Declaring his intension to contest, the Asante Mampong MP stated that “by the grace of God, I intend to lead our party into power when the delegates of our party give me the nod on October 18, 2014.
[contextly_sidebar id=”F5Xsl7M8oQLoZPvoogJ5sLQRi9aEjOd2″]This statement puts to rest doubts about whether the MP would indeed contest or not, uncertainties which were fuelled by his “I’m still consulting” response to all questions that was asked about his continued interest in the race.
For him he is the best person to bring the NPP back into government after several years in opposition.
“Close to 60 years of Ghana’s existence as a nation, our nation has only had the opportunity to be in power for about 10 years… and Ghanaians are yearning to see this great party back in the helm of affairs,” he stated.
Mr. Addai-Nimoh, who was a debutant in the party’s presidential managed to place fourth by securing 2.98 percent of votes cast to qualify to take part in the party’s congress in October.
Considering Nana Akufo-Addo’s emphatic victory in the elections, several NPP supporters across the country have been calling on the other contestants to drop out of the race and allow Nana Akufo-Addo to go unopposed.
But Addai-Nimoh in response said that “the democratic culture which our party believes in thrives on competition, the tolerance for divergent views and the willingness and ability to play by the rules.”
This in his opinion “ensures unity, the integrity and credibility of the party before the Ghanaian electorates whose mandate we shall be seeking come December 2016.”
He ended the statement by thanking all who have “encouraged and supported “him and assures the party’s delegates of a “clean, ethical and successful campaign to deliver power to the NPP come December, 2016.
By: Raymond Acquah/citifmonline.com/Ghana