Accra, Dec.28, GNA 96 Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Thursday sent a congratulatory message to Professor John Evans Atta Mills on his election as the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Election 2008.

The message, a copy of which was made available to the GNA, said Prof Mills' "decisive nomination for the third time as the flag bearer of the Party is eloquent testimony to the esteem in which your leadership is held by the Party's membership". It said: "The atmosphere of peace and democratic commitment that characterized the conduct of this particular Conference is also encouraging for the entrenchment of the democratic culture for which the masses of our people yearn."

The message said, "as we enter the Golden Jubilee year of our nation's independence, we can all, from our different vantage points, work together in the years ahead to develop our country into the free, prosperous and progressive nation for which the founders of our nation so passionately fought".