Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, a contender in the race for the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has appealed to supporters of the party to unite behind any person that would emerge as the party's flag bearer for the 2012 elections to enable the party recapture power.
"Unity is paramount if the party is to win the election. All good party people should support who ever will be chosen in August to lead the party in the next election," he said.
Nana Akufo-Addo was addressing about 150 delegates comprising elders, constituency and polling station executives in the Wa Central constituency on Saturday during his campaign tour of the Upper West Region.
Nana Akufo-Addo, who arrived at Wa on Friday to a tumultuous welcome by hundreds of cheering party followers and admirers, focused his message to the delegates on party unity, party organization and governance.
He said his party's loss of power was as a result of the divisions that erupted in the party in the run up to the 2008 election.
He alleged that NPP supporters were being subjected to all kinds of maltreatment including brutalities and loss of jobs after the party had lost power and told the supporters to see that as a lesson and unite.
Nana Akufo-Addo said he supported the enlargement of the party's Electoral College to cover all polling station executives throughout the country because as a democratic institution, he believed that power should be strengthened at the grassroots and used wisely to elect someone who could meet the aspirations of the people.
He said he was not seeking power for the sake of it but to use the experience he had gathered over the years to meet the needs of the people
adding that he still stood by the promises he made to voters prior to the last election.
Nana Akufo-Addo called on all party supporters to be vigilant and have the strength to defend the party at all times.
Mr. Dominic Nitiwul, Member of Parliament for Bimbilla, told the delegates that some National Democratic Congress members were trying to choose a candidate for the NPP through their utterances and actions.
In order to prevent this from happening, he said, they should vote for Nana Akufo-Addo as he would be able to match their opponents "boot for boot" during the next election.