Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Aspirant on Wednesday said Ghana needed a bold and decisive leadership.
"We need a leadership that is sincere and not condescending; that sees evil, hears evil and acts against them. A leadership that can bring back self-confidence in the Ghanaian people; that believes in Ghana and in the manifest destiny of this blessed land of ours. This is why I am still in the race to lead my party to lead Ghana," he said.
Nana Akufo-Addo made the call when launching his campaign for the flagbearership in Accra.
He said "I have picked up my nomination forms to contest for the position of Presidential Candidate for the NPP in Election 2012".
Nana Akufo-Addo said "God willing, I intend to begin my national tour of all 230 constituencies in Ghana on Thursday, April 22, beginning with the Central Region".
"Apart from appealing to the 115,000 delegates of the National Congress for their votes on August 7, I intend to use this national tour to listen to the party people, especially the five polling station executives in each of
the more than 21,000 polling station areas nationwide, their accounts of the opportunities and challenges facing our great Party".
"What we need to do to prepare and equip ourselves sufficiently for Victory 2012. I want to share ideas with them on how best to improve the Party's fortunes in every corner of the country, "he added.
The NPP Presidential Aspirant commending the party activists and sympathisers said "as we celebrate the 18th anniversary of the NPP, I want
to thank the grassroots activists of the Party for their hard work, unwavering loyalty and commitment to the cause of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition. Ours is a tradition born out of struggle to wage an uncompromising battle for the establishment and maintenance of liberty,
justice, responsibility and prosperity".
He said from 1947, through the years of dictatorship to the Fourth Republic, the rank and file of the tradition stood firm in their conviction to uphold, defend and promote the party and its principles of rule of law, multi-party democracy and individual freedom.
"Even though, the individual expectations of many of our foot soldiers could not be met during the eight years of positive change under President John Agyekum Kufuor, you showed your patience and higher understanding of democracy and the challenges and opportunities of a developing economy in a fiercely competitive multi-party democracy. Those of us in leadership
position of the party shall forever be grateful to you, "he said.
On unity within the party, Nana Akufo-Addo said "I want all of our members and activists to consider the imperative of unity for victory 2012.
I do not have to convince anyone of the supreme need for unity". "Indeed, any time I have had the privilege of interacting with our grassroots activists, they have pressed home the need for the NPP to forge and present a united front, for united we stand divided we fall".
"Let me say that I fully subscribe to this important, principled value of political party organisation and wish to assure our teeming supporters that, as I have always done, I will continue to strive to maintain and build on the unity that is so critical to our party's organisational and electoral success. We must work together, because we dream together; we must think together and strategize together; we must stay together and win for all; we must protect each other, because we suffer together; and we must trust each other if we are to stick together. We are one party, one family with one
goal: Victory 2012," he added.
Nana Akufo-Addo stressed the need to convince the grassroots, through the power of positive campaign, to assert their wisdom and the supreme authority granted them by the party's constitution, to vote for the most appropriate person to lead the party into victory in December 2012 in order for them to begin the process of fixing the nation and binding Ghanaians closer together after January 7, 2013.
"I have done a lot of reflection since our defeat in 2008. As a human being, I assure you that I have examined myself; I have examined my
strategies. I assure you that I have come out stronger for future leadership. I believe I am standing on the brink of a great victory for our
great party and I ask all party faithful to give me the desired push for a sweet victory in 2012, "he said.
Nana Akufo-Addo noted that soundings in the party indicated that there was broad support for his candidature from all sections within the party, young and old, men and women, from the established figures of the party, emerging figures, through the polling stations and constituencies across the country.
"I am assured by this broad support that I therefore represent the best prospect for uniting the party. I believe that this broad support
within the party is a reflection of the broad support I enjoy within the Ghanaian population," he added.
He appealed to all his supporters not to resort to any negative campaign, adding "We have a positive story to tell. Let us keep it clean and healthy".
"The NPP believes in the supreme dignity of humankind. We shall continue to defend and promote the economic and social rights and freedoms of every individual in a multi-democratic and liberal economic environment,
where access to success and prosperity is opened to all.
These are my first steps to bringing back hope, "he said.
On Election 2008, Nana Akufo-Addo expressed appreciation to Ghanaians, particularly the 4,480,446 who voted for him.
He said the NPP had done a lot of reflection since 2008, and had not been complacent because shortly after Election 2008, it set up a committee to inquire into the defeat and make recommendations for the future.
Nana Akufo-Addo said with series of reorganisations from the polling station level to the national leadership level, it had expanded the Electoral College by 4,700 per cent, from the 2,293 delegates who voted for 17 Presidential Aspirants in 2007 to about 115,000 delegates who would vote to choose a new flagbearer from a maximum of five contestants next August.
"By this, the NPP has taken a giant step in deepening internal party democracy and mobilising the grassroots of the Party. No other political
party on the continent has shown such bravery in extending decision-making powers to their foot soldiers - to the men and women who actually do the door-to-door campaign. I would urge other political parties to emulate this example," he added.
Nana Akufo-Addo said involvement of the youth in the affairs of the party was critical to its growth and success, and therefore pledged to
continue to unfold programmes for the economic, social and political development of the youth in the party and Ghana, as a whole.
"Despite the systematic attempt to denigrate President Kufuor's eight-year record, we in the NPP are satisfied that he laid a solid record
of achievement in virtually all aspects of our national life, " he added.
On the economy, Nana Akufo-Addo stressed the need to restore hope and confidence to move the nation forward.
He said it was refreshing that headline inflation had now dropped to 13.2 per cent but the basic economic principle of demand and supply meant inflation could not simply reduce the purchasing power of the people - by impoverishing them.
"The relative stability this year, helped by strong commodity prices for our exports and reductions in both public and consumer spending, has been achieved by factors other than the competence of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration. It does not demonstrate
imaginative or competent economic management, "he said.
Nana Akufo-Addo noted that the challenge of economic management was to maintain stability while growing the economy even in the face of a global economic crisis.
He said "this explains why after nearly 35 years of being in the frontline of Ghanaian politics, this 66-year-old, short and not so handsome young man still has the energy and passion to lead Ghana to a new and exciting future".